In 2024, the mortality rate in China ranged at approximately 7.76 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The mortality rate in China displayed an uneven development over the last two decades. This is mainly related to the very uneven sizes of Chinese age groups, improvements in health care, and the occurrence of epidemics. However, an overall growing trend is undisputable and related to China's aging population. As the share of the population aged 60 and above will be growing significantly over the upcoming two decades, the mortality rate will further increase in the years ahead. Population in China China was the second most populous country in the world in 2024. However, due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades and finally turned negative in 2022. The major factor for this development was a set of policies introduced by the Chinese government in 1979, including the so-called one-child policy, which was intended to improve people’s living standards by limiting the population growth. However, with the decreasing birth rate and slower population growth, China nowadays is facing the problems of a rapidly aging population. Birth control in China According to the one-child policy, a married couple was only allowed to have one child. Only under certain circumstances were parents allowed to have a second child. As the performance of family control had long been related to the assessment of local government’s achievements, violations of the rule were severely punished. The birth control in China led to a decreasing birth rate and a more skewed gender ratio of new births due to a widely preference for male children in the Chinese society. Nowadays, since China’s population is aging rapidly, the one-child policy has been re-considered as an obstacle for the country’s further economic development. Since 2014, the one-child policy has been gradually relaxed and fully eliminated at the end of 2015. In May 2021, a new three-child policy has been introduced. However, many young Chinese people today are not willing to have more children due to high costs of raising a child, especially in urban areas.

Actual value and historical data chart for China Death Rate Crude Per 1 000 People

In 2023, the mortality rate in different regions in China varied from around 9.8 deaths per 1,000 people (per mille) in Heilongjiang province to 5.4 deaths per 1,000 in Guangdong. The average national mortality rate ranged at around 7.9 per mille that year.

In 2024, the total number of deaths in China amounted to around ***** million. The number of deaths increased slightly but steadily over the past two decades, only disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. This trend is mainly related to China’s demographic development and is expected to accelerate in the upcoming years. China’s aging society China had the second largest population on earth in 2024. However, population growth in China has gradually decreased over the last decades and finally turned negative in 2022. Together with steadily improving health standards and growing life expectancy, this has led to a quickly aging society. As relatively large age cohorts are now reaching the years of retirement, the number of elderly in the country is projected to increase quickly. This is especially visible in the number of people aged 80 years and above, which is expected to rise more than four-fold from ** million in 2020 to *** million in 2050. This development will probably be the main factor leading to a growing number of mortalities in China in the upcoming years. China’s mortality rate in comparison Globally, China’s mortality rate is at a low range at slightly less than eight deaths per thousand inhabitants annually. The low mortality rate was a result of political stability and steady improvements in the health system. As the Chinese population grows older, cancer, heart attacks, and cerebrovascular diseases are increasingly common causes of death. In comparison to most Western countries, the number of fatalities due to COVID-19 was low in 2020 and 2021, but there was a slight excess mortality in 2023 and. Most common infectious diseases with high death rates in China were *********************************** in 2021.

Mortality rate, adult, female (per 1,000 female adults) in China was reported at 55.27 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Mortality rate, adult, female (per 1,000 female adults) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

China: Deaths of children five to fourteen years of age per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 1 deaths per 1000 births, unchanged from 1 deaths per 1000 births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 3 deaths per 1000 births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for China from 1990 to 2022 is 2 deaths per 1000 births. The minimum value, 1 deaths per 1000 births, was reached in 2009 while the maximum of 4 deaths per 1000 births was recorded in 1990.

Actual value and historical data chart for China Mortality Rate Adult Male Per 1 000 Male Adults

Historical dataset showing China death rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

China Mortality Rate Attributed to Unsafe Water, Unsafe Sanitation and Lack of Hygiene: per 100,000 Population data was reported at 0.600 Ratio in 2016. China Mortality Rate Attributed to Unsafe Water, Unsafe Sanitation and Lack of Hygiene: per 100,000 Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.600 Ratio from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2016, with 1 observations. China Mortality Rate Attributed to Unsafe Water, Unsafe Sanitation and Lack of Hygiene: per 100,000 Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank: Health Statistics. Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene is deaths attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene focusing on inadequate WASH services per 100,000 population. Death rates are calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the total population. In this estimate, only the impact of diarrhoeal diseases, intestinal nematode infections, and protein-energy malnutrition are taken into account.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

China Number of Deaths Ages 5-9 Years data was reported at 16,167.000 Person in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16,630.000 Person for 2018. China Number of Deaths Ages 5-9 Years data is updated yearly, averaging 33,686.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2019, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 91,756.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 16,167.000 Person in 2019. China Number of Deaths Ages 5-9 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Number of deaths of children ages 5-9 years; ; Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Sum; Aggregate data for LIC, UMC, LMC, HIC are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Actual value and historical data chart for China Mortality Rate Under 5 Male Per 1000

In 2023, the number of deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in China was ****. Between 1960 and 2023, the figure dropped by *****, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Forecast: Under 5 Mortality Rate in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

China Mortality from CVD, Cancer, Diabetes or CRD between Exact Ages 30 and 70: Female data was reported at 14.100 NA in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 14.400 NA for 2015. China Mortality from CVD, Cancer, Diabetes or CRD between Exact Ages 30 and 70: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 15.100 NA from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.100 NA in 2000 and a record low of 14.100 NA in 2016. China Mortality from CVD, Cancer, Diabetes or CRD between Exact Ages 30 and 70: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Mortality from CVD, cancer, diabetes or CRD is the percent of 30-year-old-people who would die before their 70th birthday from any of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease, assuming that s/he would experience current mortality rates at every age and s/he would not die from any other cause of death (e.g., injuries or HIV/AIDS).; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

China Mortality Rate Attributed to Household and Ambient Air Pollution: per 100,000 Population data was reported at 112.700 Ratio in 2016. China Mortality Rate Attributed to Household and Ambient Air Pollution: per 100,000 Population data is updated yearly, averaging 112.700 Ratio from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2016, with 1 observations. China Mortality Rate Attributed to Household and Ambient Air Pollution: per 100,000 Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank: Health Statistics. Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution is the number of deaths attributable to the joint effects of household and ambient air pollution in a year per 100,000 population. The rates are age-standardized. Following diseases are taken into account: acute respiratory infections (estimated for all ages); cerebrovascular diseases in adults (estimated above 25 years); ischaemic heart diseases in adults (estimated above 25 years); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults (estimated above 25 years); and lung cancer in adults (estimated above 25 years).; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Historical dataset showing China infant mortality rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

Child mortality rate of China slumped by 6.06% from 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 to 6.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. Since the 7.41% drop in 2013, child mortality rate sank by 50.40% in 2023. Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to current age-specific mortality rates.

Forecast: Infant Mortality Rate in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Forecast: Male Infant Mortality Rate in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In 2023, the infant mortality rate in deaths per 1,000 live births in China stood at 4.5. Between 1969 and 2023, the figure dropped by 84, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.