China’s Record-Low Birth Rate Underscores Population Challenges
- Nation saw 8.5 births per 1,000 people last year, data show
- Latest figures show population growth dramatically slowing
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China’s birth rate dropped to a new low in 2020, confirming the demographic challenge facing the government as it tries to deal with a shrinking labor force and growing population of elderly people.
There were 8.5 births per 1,000 people last year, the lowest in data back to 1978, according to the latest yearbook from the National Bureau of Statistics.