China announced on Friday that its population declined for the third consecutive year in 2024, continuing a downward trend after more than six decades of growth, as the country faces a rapidly aging population and persistently low birth rates.
According to Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics, the population stood at 1.408 billion by the end of 2024, down from 1.410 billion in 2023.
However, the decline was less sharp than the previous year, when it was more than double the fall reported for 2022.
China ended its strict “one-child policy,” imposed in the 1980s over fears of overpopulation, in 2016 and began allowing couples to have three children in 2021.
But these measures have failed to reverse the demographic decline in a country that has long relied on its vast workforce as a driver of economic growth.
Many attribute the falling birth rates to the soaring cost of living, the growing number of women entering the workforce, and the pursuit of higher education.
The number of people aged 60 and above in China is expected to make up nearly a third of the population by 2035, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Data released on Friday showed that the population aged 60 and over reached 310.31 million, nearly a quarter of the country, up from 297 million in 2023.
In September, officials said they would gradually raise the statutory retirement age, which had not been changed for decades and had been among the lowest in the world.
The new rules took effect on January 1.
China’s current retirement age was set at a time of widespread scarcity and impoverishment, well before market reforms brought wealth, rapid improvements in nutrition, health, and living conditions.
In recent years, however, the world’s second-largest economy has had to contend with slowing growth, while a fast-aging population and a baby bust have piled pressure onto its pension and public health systems.
