In 2022 , China's population fell for the first time in over 60 years .

The numbers highlight, in even clearer terms, the question of the demographic crisis that is affecting the most populous nation on the planet. "At the end of 2022, the national population was 1,411.75 million ," said the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing, adding that it estimated "a decrease of 0.85 million compared to the figure at the end of 2021".

In Beijing, compared to last year, there would be 850,000 fewer people . With the decline, the first since 1961, many are wondering if India hasn't already become the most populous nation on the planet. Chinese births in 2022 stood at 9.56 million compared with deaths of 10.41 million (from 10.62 and 10.14 million respectively in 2021), while the number of births per thousand people fell to 6.77 in 2022 from 7.52 in 2021.

In 2016, after decades, the country put an end to the one-child policy imposed since the 1980s to contain the demographic boom , loosening the links on family planning to the point of allowing every couple to be able to have three children from 2021. Despite efforts, the trend of population aging has not been reversed , creating growing difficulties for a country that has always relied on its huge pool of workforce to drive economic growth.

(Unioneonline/vf)