In Graphics | China’s population policies throughout the years

China’s population dropped for a second consecutive year in 2023, underscoring concerns of changing demographics. According to National Bureau of Statistics, the total number of people in the Asian giant reduced by 2.08 million to 1.409 billion last year.

China also saw a record-low birth rate of 6.39 per 1,000 people, down from a rate of 6.77 births in 2022. The country already lost the title of the world’s most populous nation to India last year.

China has been witnessing a drop in birth rates for decades due to the implementation of the controversial one-child policy in the 1980s to control overpopulation. The government lifted the policy in 2015 to arrest the falling birth rates. It also relaxed rules in 2021 to allow couples to have up to three children.

The country has been offering subsidies and cash incentives as well to encourage families to have children. However, these measures have not had much impact. Experts attribute the acceleration in the decline in new births in China to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s economic issues and rising costs.

Let’s take a look through graphics at China’s population policies since the 1970s.