China reportedly set to announce its first decline in population in 60 years
- Financial Times says latest census figures are expected to show nation’s population slipping to less than 1.4 billion
- The figures were supposed to be released earlier this month but have been delayed, according to FT
The Chinese government is expected to announce soon that the nation’s population has shrunk for the first time in nearly 60 years, Financial Times reported.
According to the FT, the latest census numbers for the world’s most populous nation are expected to show a decline to less than 1.4 billion people, though it is unclear how much less. The figures were supposed to be released earlier this month but have been delayed, FT reported.
02:19
China begins once-in-a-decade census to gather details about its 1.4 billion population
Chinese ministries have used the 1.4 billion figure since 2018.
A drop in China’s population would be the first since a two-year decline in 1960-61 due to the impact of the Great Famine. The population fell about 10 million in 1960 and another 3.4 million in in 1961 before rebounding 14.4 million in 1962, according to official figures.
“American economists and officials believe that China will become the No 1 economy in the world, and will be in competition with America,” said Fuxian Yi, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of Big Country with an Empty Nest. “But actually, China is not as strong as they expected.”