Image source: China Visual

BEIJING, August 1 (TMTPOST) -- China will enter a negative growth phase during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, the National Health and Welfare Commission (NHC) said on Monday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the population of the country was 1.416 billion at the end of 2021, an increase of only 480,000 from the end of the previous year.

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According to the provincial data, many provinces have already experienced negative growth in their resident populations. Populations have decreased in Heilongjiang, Hebei, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Jiangxi.

In terms of natural population growth rate, at least 10 provinces have negative natural population growth rates, including Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, Hunan, Hubei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Shanxi.

Nationally, the natural population growth rate was 0.34 per 1,000 in 2021, down 1.11 thousandths of a point from 2020.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that the continued slowdown in population growth is due to the continued decline in births. Two reasons can explain it.

First, the number of women of childbearing age continues to decline. In 2021, there will be about 5 million fewer women of childbearing age between 15 and 49 than those in 2020, including about 3 million fewer women of childbearing age between 21 and 35.

Second, the birth level continues to decline. The total birth rate of women of childbearing age will continue to decline in 2021 due to the influence of various factors such as the change in how people perceive reproduction and the postponement of the age of the first marriage and first childbirth (about 2 years later in 10 years).

Chinese demographers predicted that negative population growth will be the dominant long-term trend in the coming years, and that improving the overall quality of the population and changing economic development plans will be critical to addressing this issue.

Approaches such as reducing young people"s concerns and financial burdens to raise children, stabilizing housing prices, and optimizing preferential policies may help alleviate the pressure of negative population growth, experts said.