China's population declines for fourth year as birth rate hits record low

bbc.com — January 19, 2026 at 08:01 AM UTC

China's population decreased for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, with a record low birth rate. The population fell by 3.39 million to 1.4 billion. The birth rate was 5.63 per 1,000, and the death rate rose to 8.04 per 1,000. This demographic trend follows the end of the one-child policy and various government incentives aimed at increasing births, amidst concerns about an aging population and economic impact.

With a significance score of 6.2, this news ranks in the top 0.1% of today's 30880 analyzed articles.

Get summaries of news with significance over 5.5 (usually ~10 stories per week). Read by 10,000+ subscribers:

Most significant articles on this story:

[6.2]

China's population declines for fourth year as birth rate hits record low (bbc.com)

15h

Source

[6.1]

China's birth rate drops to 5.63 per thousand, prompting new policies (nrc.nl)

Source (Dutch)

[6.0]

China's birth rate reaches historic low as population declines (dn.se)

Source (Swedish)

[6.0]

China's population declines for fourth year as birthrate hits record low (theguardian.com)

14h

Source

[5.9]

China's population declines as birth rates fall (rtbf.be)

Source (French)

[5.8]

China's population shrinks for fourth year due to record low birth rates (abc.net.au)

Source

[5.8]

China's population falls for fourth year as birthrate drops (nytimes.com)

20h

Source [$]

[5.6]

China's birth rate falls to historic low, threatening population decline (fr.de)

Source (German)

[5.6]

China's population decline accelerates, posing economic risks (businessinsider.com)

Source

[5.5]

China's economy meets growth target as birth rate hits record low (cnn.com)

20h

Source

[5.5]

China's birth rate reaches historic low, population decline continues (letemps.ch)

15h

Source (French)

[5.4]

China's birth rate reaches historic low in 2025 (swissinfo.ch)

15h

Source (French)

[5.3]

China's population shrinks for fourth year as births reach record low (meduza.io)

Source (Russian)

[5.2]

China's population declines for fourth consecutive year (channelnewsasia.com)

19h

Source

[5.2]

China's population declines for fourth year as birth rates drop (abcnews.go.com)

15h

Source

[5.1]

China tackles its aging population and declining birth rate (thehindu.com)

19h

Source [$]

[5.0]

China's population declines for fourth year as births hit record low (thehindu.com)

19h

Source [$]

[4.9]

China's birth rate plummets due to high costs and reduced freedom (srf.ch)

Source (German)

[4.9]

China's birthrate hits record low as government policies fail to boost births (cnbc.com)

16h

Source

[4.8]

China's population declines for fourth year as births hit record low (firstpost.com)

14h

Source

[4.7]

China's population shrinks as birth rate hits record low (unian.ua)

Source (Ukrainian)

[4.6]

China's birth rate falls to record low, population declines (20min.ch)

14h

Source (French)

[4.4]

China's birth rate reaches historic low in 2025 (yahoo.com)

14h

Source

[4.4]

China's population shrinks as birth rates hit historic low (ua.korrespondent.net)

12h

Source (Ukrainian)

[4.4]

China's population declines for fourth year as birth rate hits record low (news18.com)

Source

[4.2]

China's population declines for fourth consecutive year as birth rates hit historic low (protothema.gr)

Source (Greek)

[4.1]

China's birth rate reaches record low as population ages (krone.at)

16h

Source (German)

[4.0]

China's population declines for fourth consecutive year (upi.com)

13h

Source