Recent statistics have confirmed the severity of China’s population crisis. According to the statistics researched last year, 24 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions showed a natural decrease in population out of 28. This suggests that the outlook will likely be quite bleak in the future.
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According to recent reports and analysis from media, including Economic Daily, China has lost its position as the world’s largest population to India. As the population continues to decrease steadily, it is close to affirming that China will not be able ever to surpass India again.
It seems frustrating looking at the statistics. The places where the population increased out of the 28 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions were Guangdong Province, Guizhou, Qinghai Province, and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Moreover, the population increases in these places were microscopic. Guizhou Province saw an increase of 2.88% compared to the previous year. Guangdong and Qinghai Provinces followed with 2.76% and 1.68% respectively. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region saw a mere increase of 0.42%.
On the other hand, the places where the population decreased reflected a drastic situation. Liaoning Province is a typical example, recording a shrink of 5.63%. Neighboring Jilin Province marked a decrement of 5.39%. Despite being the cities with the most inflow of population from other regions, Beijing and Shanghai also recorded decreases of 0.5% and 2.42%, respectively.
According to an announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China’s population is estimated to be 1.4967 billion as of the end of 2023, a decrease of 1.48% compared to the previous year. Calculations suggest that the population could diminish to 1.3 billion within 10 years.
Even the population authorities seem to have a pessimistic view of the future. Ma Xiangwu, a cultural critic and professor at Renmin University, commented, “Young people these days prioritize quality of life. They don’t want to have many children if possible. Some even find having one child burdensome. With this mindset, how can the population not decrease?” This suggests that there’s a good reason for population concern.
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