China is failing to boost its population more than a decade after abandoning its strict, state-enforced birth control policy, according to a media report.
The controversial one-child policy, officially implemented in 1980, was designed to curb China’s rapid population growth. However, mounting demographic pressures—including an ageing society and a shrinking workforce—forced the government to scrap the policy in 2016.
Despite the landmark shift and the introduction of multiple pro-birth measures, population growth has continued to decline. CNN, quoted by KSLTV, reported that China’s population decreased between 2022 and 2024.
United Nations projections indicate that people aged 60 and above now comprise more than 20 percent of China’s 1.4 billion population. Alarmingly, this figure could rise to nearly half of the population by the year 2100.
President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed the importance of “population security” and declared the development of a “high-quality population” a national priority. However, analysts and citizens alike argue that current policies fall short of addressing the root causes behind declining birth rates.
High youth unemployment, expensive housing, and the rising cost of raising children remain major deterrents for young couples considering marriage and parenthood.
“If we want to encourage people to have more kids now, we need to put in the same, if not more, effort and commitment to make it happen,” said 30-year-old Beijing resident Welkin Lei.
The long-term effects of the one-child policy have also left China grappling with a severe gender imbalance and a generation of only children who now shoulder the responsibility of caring for ageing parents in a country where social security systems remain underdeveloped in many regions.
In response, the government has rolled out a pro-natalist directive promoting marriage and childbirth—specifically among heterosexual couples—as central to China’s future. Measures include imposing value-added tax on contraceptives such as condoms, along with offering tax breaks, housing subsidies, cash incentives, and extended maternity leave.
However, experts remain skeptical. “So far, policies to boost births have been performative at best and have not addressed the fundamental issues of high child-rearing costs and a weak social security net,” said Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Economists warn that the continued population decline could have profound consequences, including a shrinking labor force, reduced consumer demand, and soaring costs associated with elderly care.
