According to latest figures, the Chinese population decreased by 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people in 2024. After decades of rapid growth, China arrived at the turning point of its demographic development in 2022, which was earlier than expected. The annual population decrease is estimated to remain at moderate levels until around 2030 but to accelerate thereafter. Population development in China China had for a long time been the country with the largest population worldwide, but according to UN estimates, it has been overtaken by India in 2023. As the population in India is still growing, the country is very likely to remain being home of the largest population on earth in the near future. 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, displaying an annual population growth rate of -0.1 percent in 2024. Nevertheless, compared to the world population in total, China held a share of about 17 percent of the overall global population in 2024. China's aging population In terms of demographic developments, the birth control efforts of the Chinese government had considerable effects on the demographic pyramid in China. Upon closer examination of the age distribution, a clear trend of an aging population becomes visible. In order to curb the negative effects of an aging population, the Chinese government abolished the one-child policy in 2015, which had been in effect since 1979, and introduced a three-child policy in May 2021. However, many Chinese parents nowadays are reluctant to have a second or third child, as is the case in most of the developed countries in the world. The number of births in China varied in the years following the abolishment of the one-child policy, but did not increase considerably. Among the reasons most prominent for parents not having more children are the rising living costs and costs for child care, growing work pressure, a growing trend towards self-realization and individualism, and changing social behaviors.

The graph shows the population growth in China from 2000 to 2024. In 2024, the Chinese population decreased by about 0.1 percent or 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people. Declining population growth in China Due to strict birth control measures by the Chinese government as well as changing family and work situations of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades. Although the gradual abolition of the one-child policy from 2014 on led to temporarily higher birth figures, growth rates further decreased in recent years. As of 2024, leading countries in population growth could almost exclusively be found on the African continent and the Arabian Peninsula. Nevertheless, as of mid 2024, Asia ranked first by a wide margin among the continents in terms of absolute population. Future development of Chinese population The Chinese population reached a maximum of 1,412.6 million people in 2021 but decreased by 850,000 in 2022 and another 2.08 million in 2023. Until 2022, China had still ranked the world’s most populous country, but it was overtaken by India in 2023. Apart from the population decrease, a clear growth trend in Chinese cities is visible. By 2024, around 67 percent of Chinese people lived in urban areas, compared to merely 36 percent in 2000.

In 2023, about ***** million people in China were estimated by the UN to be at a working age between 15 and 64 years. After a steep increase in the second half of the 20th century, the size of the working-age population reached a turning point in 2015 and figures started to decrease thereafter. Changes in the working-age population China's demographic development is characterized by a rapid change from a high fertility rate to a low one. This has caused the development of an arc shaped graph of the working age population: quickly increasing numbers before 2010, a gradual turn with a minor second peak until around 2027, and a steep decline thereafter. The expected second maximum of the graph results from the abolishment of birth control measures after 2010, which proved less successful in increasing birth figures than expected. The same turn can be seen in the number of people eligible for work, with an accelerated downturn in the years of the coronavirus pandemic, where many people left the labor force. It is very likely that the size of the labor force will rebound slightly in the upcoming years, but the extent of the rebound, which parallels the second maximum of the working age population, might be limited. China's labor market China's labor market was once defined by its abundant and cheap labor force, but competition for talent has been getting increasingly tense in recent years. This development is very likely to further intensify and extend itself into the less skilled ranks of the labor market. As the number of people who fall within the retirement age group is increasing and adding to the burden on the economy, steps to keep labor participation high are necessary. Raising the retirement age and providing incentives to stay in the labor force, are measures being implemented by Chinese government. Strategies to increase labor productivity would be ideal to mitigate the pressure on the Chinese economy, however, realizing such strategies is challenging.

This statistic shows the ten countries with the largest decline in the size of the rural population between 2018 and 2015. Based on forecasted population figures, the rural population of China is projected to be around *** million less in 2050 than it was in 2018.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 in early 2020 and the recurring epidemic in later years have disturbed China’s economy. Moreover, China’s demographic dividend has been disappearing due to its fastest aging population and declining birth rate. The birth rates in eastern provinces of China are much lower than those of the western provinces. Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 and aging population, this paper focused on the relationship between birth rate and the disposable income and tried to find effective measures to raise China’s birth rate. We discovered through regression analysis that the link between per capita disposable income and birth rate is initially "reverse J" and later "inverted J", indicating that per capita disposable income will influence the birth rate. Women’s employment rate and educational level are negatively correlated with the birth rate. To raise the fertility rate in China, it is necessary to increase the marriage rate and the willingness to have children by raising the per capita disposable income and introducing effective tax relief policies.

Urban population growth (annual %) in China was reported at 1.3741 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Urban population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

In 2020, about **** percent of the population in China was of working age between 15 and 59 years. The share of the working age Chinese population has been decreasing since the early 2010s and will shrink further in the coming decades.

Per capita disposable income of urban residents in different regions Unit: Yuan.

In 2023, China's labor force amounted to approximately 772.2 million people. The labor force in China indicated a general decreasing trend in recent years. As both the size of the population in working age and the share of the population participating in the labor market are declining, this downward trend will most likely persist in the foreseeable future. A country’s labor force is defined as the total number of employable people and incorporates both the employed and the unemployed population. Population challenges for China One of the reasons for the shrinking labor force is the Chinese one-child policy, which had been in effect for nearly 40 years, until it was revoked in 2016. The controversial policy was intended to improve people’s living standards and optimize resource distribution through controlling the size of China’s expanding population. Nonetheless, the policy also led to negative impacts on the labor market, pension system and other societal aspects. Today, China is becoming an aging society. The increase of elderly people and the lack of young people will become a big challenge for China in this century. Employment in China Despite the slowing down of economic growth, China’s unemployment rate has sustained a relatively low rate. Complete production chains and a well-educated labor force make China’s labor market one of the most attractive in the world. Working conditions and salaries in China have also improved significantly over the past years. Due to China’s leading position in terms of talent in the technology industry, the country is now attracting investment from some of the world’s leading companies in the high-tech sector.

BACKGROUND Comprehensive analyses of statistical data on breast cancer incidence, mortality, and associated risk factors are of great value for decision-making related to reducing the disease burden of breast cancer. METHODS: Based on data from the Annual Report of China Tumour Registry and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), we conducted summary and trend analyses of incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer in Chinese women from 2014 to 2018 for urban and rural areas in the whole, eastern, central, and western parts of the country, and projected the incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer for 2019 in comparison with the GBD 2019 estimates. And the comparative risk assessment framework estimated risk factors contributing to breast cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from GBD. RESULTS: The Annual Report of the Chinese Tumour Registry showed that showed that the mortality rate of breast cancer declined and the incidence rate remained largely unchanged from 2014 to 2018. There was a significant increasing trend in incidence rates among urban and rural women in eastern China and rural women in central China, whereas there was a significant decreasing trend in mortality rates among rural women in China. The two data sources have some differences in their predictions of breast cancer in China in 2019. The GBD data estimated the age-standard DALYs rates of high body-mass index, high fasting plasma glucose and diet high in red meat, which are the top three risk factors attributable to breast cancer in Chinese women, to be 29.99/100,000, 13.66/100,000 and 13.44/100,000, respectively. Conclusion: The trend of breast cancer incidence and mortality rates shown in the Annual Report of China Tumour Registry indicates that China has achieved remarkable results in reducing the burden of breast cancer, but there is still a need to further improve breast cancer screening and early diagnosis and treatment, and to improve the system of primary prevention. The GBD database provides risk factors for breast cancer in the world, Asia, and China, and lays the foundation for research on effective measures to reduce the burden of breast cancer.

Regression results after excluding the variable EL.

As China continues to implement its progressive fertility promotion policy, there has been a drastic decline in the fertility rate. Given that the migrant population constitutes more than a quarter of China’s total population, enhancing the willingness of this demographic to have additional children through policy-guided urban public services is pivotal for optimizing China’s population development strategy. This study analyzes the influence of urban public services on the reproductive intentions of the migrant population, utilizing data from 110,667 migrant families with one child, drawn from China’s Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring data in 2016 and 2018. The data analysis reveals several key findings: (1) Urban public services, overall, exhibit a notable positive effect on the willingness of the migrant population to have more children, albeit with limitations and a declining trend. (2) Among urban public services, primary basic education significantly impacts the willingness of the migrant population to expand their families. (3) Large cities have created a ’reverse screening’ effect on the migrant population, leading to differential access to public services. This scenario caters effectively to the high human capital migrant individuals while reducing accessibility to livelihood public services for the low human capital migrant population. This paper critically evaluates China’s progressively adjusted fertility policy from the perspective of the migrant population. It underscores the necessity of establishing a comprehensive fertility support policy system across China.

In 2024, there were around 719 million male inhabitants and 689 million female inhabitants living in China, amounting to around 1.41 billion people in total. China's total population decreased for the first time in decades in 2022, and population decline is expected to accelerate in the upcoming years. Birth control in China From the beginning of the 1970s on, having many children was no longer encouraged in mainland China. The one-child policy was then introduced in 1979 to control the total size of the Chinese population. According to the one-child policy, a married couple was only allowed to have one child. With the time, modifications were added to the policy, for example parents living in rural areas were allowed to have a second child if the first was a daughter, and most ethnic minorities were excepted from the policy. Population ageing The birth control led to a decreasing birth rate in China and a more skewed gender ratio of new births due to boy preference. Since the negative economic and social effects of an aging population were more and more felt in China, the one-child policy was considered 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. However, many young Chinese people are not willing to have more children due to high costs of raising a child, especially in urban areas.

Introduction: Urban contraction brings about certain impacts on the advancement of urbanization.Methods: This paper explores the coupling coordination (CCD) and geographical distribution of land urbanization (LU) and population urbanization (PU) in Jiangsu Province through a CCD model and a spatial autocorrelation model from the perspective of shrinking cities. The Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) model is constructed to deeply investigate the complex interaction between the PU-LU in 13 cities, 2007-2020.Results: The study found that the PU-LU CCD in each of the above-mentioned cities shows a synergistic incremental evolution during the study period in terms of time series. In addition, in terms of spatial characteristics, the CCD of PU and LU shows significant positive global spatial autocorrelation, and the CCD of cities with high population size growth is much larger than that of cities with continuous population size. Last, there is an interactive response relationship between PU and LU. PU influences LU, however, PU itself is influenced by its own system’s internal structure. The impact of PU on LU shows a positive cumulative effect of the “inverted U shape.”Discussion: Furthermore, this paper proposes that policies be created to ensure the coordinated growth of PU-LU based on the differences in resource endowments of cities with 3 types of urban shrinkage. The link between floating population and construction land for cities should be established through enhancing the extent of intensive land use and reforming household registration.

Exploring the complex relationship between population change and surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect has important practical significance for the ecological transformation development of shrinking cities in the context of the prevalence of urban shrinkage and the global climate change. This paper compares the population change and SUHI effect between population shrinking region (Northeast Region, NR) and population growing region (Yangtze River Delta, YRD) in China, and explores their differences in driving mechanisms, using GIS spatial analysis and Geodetector model. Our results indicated that there are significant differences in population changes and SUHI intensity between these two regions. About 72.22% of the cities in the NR were shrinking, while their SUHI intensities increased by an average of 1.69°C. On the contrary, the urban population in the YRD shows a linear growth trend, while their SUHI intensities decreased by 0.11°C on average. The results of bivariate Moran’s I index also indicated that the spatial correlation between the urban population changes and the SUHI intensity changes are not significant in the above regions. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the primary drivers of SUHI variations between these two regions. In the NR, underlying surface changes, including the changes of green coverage and built-up areas, are the most important driving factors. However, atmospheric environment changes, such as carbon dioxide emission and sulfur dioxide emission, are the key drivers in the YRD. Northam’s theory of three-stage urbanization and environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis are powerful to explain these differences.

A compendium of the Chinese government’s progressive fertility policy adjustments over the past decade.

Since 1970, the median age of China’s population has continued to increase from around ** years to around **** years in 2020. According to estimates from the United Nations, the increasing trend will slow down when the median age will reach ** years in the middle of the 21st century and will remain at around ** years up to 2100. China’s aging population Although the median age of China’s population is still lower than in many developed countries, for example in Japan, the consequences of a rapidly aging population have already become a concern for the country’s future. As the most populated country in the world, the large labor force in China contributed to the country’s astonishing economic growth in the last decades. Nowadays however, the aging population is going to become a burden for China’s social welfare system and could change China’s economic situation. Reasons for the aging population Like in many other countries, increasing life expectancy is regarded as the main reason for the aging of the population. As healthcare and living standards have improved, life expectancy in China has also increased. In addition, the one-child policy led to a decreasing fertility rate in China, which further increased the share of older people in the society. Even though the one-child policy has been abolished in 2016, many young people are refraining from having children, largely due to the high costs of raising a child, career pressure and the pursuit of freedom.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an important part of China’s new "double-cycle" development pattern. Among the many factors affecting FDI, will the aging population have an impact on manufacturing, the key industry for FDI? This paper examines the direct and indirect effects of an aging population on FDI using panel data from 27 manufacturing sub-industries in China between 2005 and 2020. It is found that (1) the deepening of the population’s aging negatively affects FDI inflows and this result continues to hold after a series of robustness tests. (2) Using labor quantity and labor cost as mediating variables, it is found that the population’s aging indirectly affects FDI by reducing labor quantity and increasing labor cost. (3) The heterogeneity analysis study finds that the deepening of the population’s aging significantly inhibits FDI in labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries among manufacturing sub-industries, and the inhibitory effect on FDI in technology-intensive industries is not significant. This study provides meso-evidence to support the findings of existing studies and provides suggestions and insights for the government to formulate relevant policies to actively cope with aging.

Regression results of the difference in human capital characteristics mobile population’s willingness to have another child.

In 2023, the natural growth rate of the population across China varied between 7.96 people per 1,000 inhabitants (per mille) in Tibet and -6.92 per mille in Heilongjiang province. The national total population growth rate turned negative in 2022 and ranged at -1.48 per mille in 2023. Regional disparities in population growth The natural growth rate is the difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a certain region. In China, natural population growth reached the highest values in the western regions of the country. These areas have a younger population and higher fertility rates. Although the natural growth rate does not include the direct effects of migration, migrants are often young people in their reproductive years, and their movement may therefore indirectly affect the birth rates of their home and host region. This is one of the reasons why Guangdong province, which received a lot of immigrants over the last decades, has a comparatively high population growth rate. At the same time, Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang province, all located in northeast China, suffer not only from low fertility, but also from emigration of young people searching for better jobs elsewhere. The impact of uneven population growth The current distribution of natural population growth rates across China is most likely to remain in the near future, while overall population decline is expected to accelerate. Regions with less favorable economic opportunities will lose their inhabitants faster. The western regions with their high fertility rates, however, have only small total populations, which limits their effect on China’s overall population size.