China population 2021: births may drop to lowest on record, Jefferies Financial Group analysis shows

Analysis of local government data showed that newborns may have fallen by 17 per cent in some regions in the first half of the year

Chinese mothers gave birth to 12 million babies last year, down from 14.65 million in 2019, marking an 18 per cent decline year on year

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China’s overall population rose to 1.412 billion in 2020, but the number of new births fell for a fourth consecutive year to 12 million. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:00pm, 19 Aug 2021Updated: 3:00pm, 19 Aug 2021

The number of babies born in China this year may drop to the lowest since at least 1950, according to Jefferies Financial Group, one of the reasons why the government is cracking down on industries like education to bring down costs and promote bigger families.

An analysis of local government data showed that China’s newborns may have fallen by 17 per cent in some regions in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2020, researchers led by Simon Powell wrote in a note.

Extending that drop to the whole country means “there is a risk that newborns might fall below 10 million in 2021,” they said.

The government has loosened restrictions on the number of children a couple can have and promised to boost support for families, including making it cheaper to raise a child.

However, after dropping to 12 million last year, the number of newborns may decline again this year, Yu Xuejun, deputy head of the National Health Commission, said last month.

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