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 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.

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.

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

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.

Population: Death Rate: Shanghai data was reported at 0.628 % in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.637 % for 2023. Population: Death Rate: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 0.600 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2024, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.730 % in 1993 and a record low of 0.500 % in 2016. Population: Death Rate: Shanghai data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Death Rate: By Region.

Population: Death Rate: Beijing data was reported at 0.608 % in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.613 % for 2023. Population: Death Rate: Beijing data is updated yearly, averaging 0.530 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2024, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.616 % in 1993 and a record low of 0.426 % in 2011. Population: Death Rate: Beijing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Death Rate: By Region.

Population: Death Rate: Yunnan data was reported at 0.861 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.821 % for 2022. Population: Death Rate: Yunnan data is updated yearly, averaging 0.725 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.861 % in 2023 and a record low of 0.620 % in 2019. Population: Death Rate: Yunnan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Death Rate: By Region.

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.

Population: Death Rate: Chongqing data was reported at 0.890 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.809 % for 2022. Population: Death Rate: Chongqing data is updated yearly, averaging 0.705 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2023, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.890 % in 2023 and a record low of 0.608 % in 2002. Population: Death Rate: Chongqing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Death Rate: By Region.

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.

In 2023, the mortality rate of children under five years of age in *** monitoring sites in China was *** per 1,000 children. In the past three decades, premature deaths of young people in China were substantially reduced, with the mortality rate of children under five dropping by almost ** percent. Enhanced access to pediatric healthcare services Thanks to China's rapid transformation in the past few decades, the standard of medical services available to Chinese children has improved dramatically. Many children's hospitals throughout China's major cities, as well as a number of pediatric units in general hospitals, have reached highly sophisticated levels. Over the past decade, the number of pediatric ward beds and medical personnel in China has increased enormously, generally meeting the demand for children's care. The control of life-threatening diseases With a more robust healthcare system, many diseases that have long been threatening the lives of Chinese children have been brought under effective control, with the mortality rate from serious diseases such as neonatal tetanus dropping significantly in recent years. However, with disparities between the accessibility and quality of pediatric care in urban and rural areas, children in rural China usually have fewer treatment options when diagnosed with certain conditions. The mortality rates of serious illnesses such as childhood leukemia are often significantly higher in the countryside as a result.

Forecast: Death Rate of Viral Hepatitis in China 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

China Population: Number of Death data was reported at 10.410 Person mn in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 10.140 Person mn for 2021. China Population: Number of Death data is updated yearly, averaging 7.795 Person mn from Dec 1950 (Median) to 2022, with 70 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.930 Person mn in 1960 and a record low of 5.980 Person mn in 1978. China Population: Number of Death data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Birth, Death, Natural Growth, Birth Rate, Death Rate and Natural Growth Rate, Life Expectancy, Dependency Ratio.

Actual value and historical data chart for China Tuberculosis Death Rate Per 100000 People

Population: Household Registration: Death Rate: Xinjiang: Urumqi data was reported at 8.630 ‰ in 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 15.360 ‰ for 2017. Population: Household Registration: Death Rate: Xinjiang: Urumqi data is updated yearly, averaging 3.430 ‰ from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2018, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.360 ‰ in 2017 and a record low of 2.660 ‰ in 2011. Population: Household Registration: Death Rate: Xinjiang: Urumqi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Urumqi Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Household Registration: Natural Growth Rate.

Population: Household Registration: Death Rate: Guangdong: Yunfu data was reported at 6.370 ‰ in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.510 ‰ for 2022. Population: Household Registration: Death Rate: Guangdong: Yunfu data is updated yearly, averaging 5.400 ‰ from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.160 ‰ in 2017 and a record low of 4.560 ‰ in 2019. Population: Household Registration: Death Rate: Guangdong: Yunfu data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Yunfu Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Household Registration: Natural Growth Rate.

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

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