Inside Story

Is China heading for a demographic crisis?

The population in the world’s most populous country has shrunk for the first time in 61 years.

China’s population has declined for the first time in more than six decades. The birth rate slowed to 6.77 babies per 1,000 people in 2022.

Compounding the issue is that deaths outnumbered births.

Economists warn that the low birth rate and rapidly ageing population will have far-reaching effects — not just locally, but on the global economy.

What’s behind this downturn?

And what will it take to reverse the trend?

Presenter: Sohail Rahman

Guests:

Einar Tangen – Senior Fellow, Taihe Institute.

Winnie King – Senior Lecturer in Chinese International Political Economy, University of Bristol.

Guido Cozzi – Professor of Macroeconomics, University of St Gallen.