The last time China’s population decreased was in 1961, during a famine that killed tens of millions of people across the country. This time, a combination of factors are behind the drop: the far-reaching consequences of the one-child policy China introduced in the 1980s (but has since abandoned); changing attitudes toward marriage and family among Chinese youth; entrenched gender inequality and the challenges of raising children in China’s expensive cities.
Experts warn that, if sustained, the trend could also pose a problem for the rest of the world, with China playing a key role in driving global growth as the second-largest economy. A falling population is likely to exacerbate China’s problems with an aging workforce and drag on growth, adding to its woes as it struggles to recover from the pandemic.
