BEIJING, KOMPAS.com – China has recorded its first population decline in decades, which some experts call a sea change.
Latest, quoted from NPRaccording to data published Tuesday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese population mainland is 1.411 billion people at the end of 2022, down 850,000 compared to the previous year.
Stuart Gietel-Basten, a professor of social sciences at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, said the shrinkage could complicate China’s plans to continue economic expansion.
Also read: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Can’t Sleep Over the South China Sea
Long the world’s most populous country, China will soon see its population surpassed by fast-growing India.
By 2022, according to UN data, India will have a population of 1.4066 billion, only trailing China at 1.4485 billion.
The last time China is believed to have experienced a decline in population was during the tumultuous period known as the Great Leap Forward which began in the late 1950s.
China’s notorious one-child policy of limiting births for decades had already declined in the 1970s.
In 1980, the Chinese government officially instituted the controversial one-child policy, which legally restricted families from having more than one baby.
The policies were intended to further limit China’s population growth and help stimulate an economic boom.
Also read: Deputy PM: China Returns To Normal After Lifting Covid-19 Restrictions
Ultimately that results in low fertility rates and a large aging population.
Last year, China saw more deaths than births, according to government data published this week. Officials say 10.41 million people died while 9.56 million were born.
In 2015, China ended its one-child policy and began allowing married couples to have two children. It is expanding benefits again in 2021, allowing up to three children.
But why did this move lead to a decline in population?
Government Failure to Encourage Couples to Have Children
Yun Zhou, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, said China’s recent efforts to reverse course and encourage families to have more children have been unsuccessful.
“From my own research, what I’ve seen is women often resist and often prioritize their paid work and prioritize the pursuit of individualistic ideals over these ongoing incentives,” said Zhou.
“But because China is an authoritarian country, it remains to be seen to what extent and how extreme the country will actually go to incentivize births,” he added.
Zhou also noted that although the Chinese government has encouraged married heterosexual couples to have more children, LGBTQ people and unmarried people are often excluded from official policies.
Also read: Chinese Ships Active in the North Natuna Sea, Indonesia Sends Warships
Covid-19 Affects Fertility Levels
The Covid-19 pandemic has also weighed on China’s fertility rate. After Covid-19 was first reported in Wuhan, the worldwide lockdown led to widespread economic hardship and social isolation.
That’s especially the case in China, the world’s second-largest economy, where in some cases people have been confined to their homes for days or even weeks as strict pandemic lockdowns were put in place to slow the spread of the virus.
Also read: India is predicted to overtake China as the most populous country in the world
Get updates featured news and breaking news every day from Kompas.com. Let’s join the Telegram group “Kompas.com News Update”, how to click the link https://t.me/kompascomupdate, then join. You must first install the Telegram application on your cellphone.
