China's Population Drops by 3.39 Million in 2025 as Birth Rate Hits Record Low

China's population fell by 3.39 million people in 2025, marking the fourth consecutive annual decline and accelerating from the previous year's drop of 2.08 million.

The total population stood at 1.40489 billion at the end of the year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on January 19, 2026.

Births totaled 7.92 million, down 17 percent from 9.54 million in 2024, while deaths rose to 11.31 million from 10.93 million the prior year.

The birth rate dropped to 5.63 per 1,000 people, the lowest since records began in 1949, and the death rate climbed to 8.04 per 1,000 people, the highest since 1968.

"In 2025, the number of births was 7.92 million with a birth rate of 5.63 per thousand; the number of deaths was 11.31 million with a mortality rate of 8.04 per thousand; the natural population growth rate was -2.41 per thousand."

The male population numbered 716.85 million and the female population 688.04 million, yielding a sex ratio of 104.19 males per 100 females.

The working-age population from 16 to 59 years old accounted for 60.6 percent of the total, or 851.36 million people, while those aged 60 and over made up 23 percent, totaling 323.38 million.

Urban residents increased by 10.3 million to 953.8 million, raising the urbanization rate to 67.89 percent.

Decades of the one-child policy in China, which ended in 2016, have resulted in fewer women of childbearing age with high living costs and declining marriage rates, keeping fertility rates around 0.9 to 1.0 children per woman in 2025.

Despite various government-level efforts with incentives such as cash subsidies and extended leave, birth rates fell short of the 2016 projections.

This has raised concerns about a shrinking workforce, strained pension systems, and economic pressures that experts believe require more comprehensive solutions and ideas to control the declining population issue in China.