China population: Shanghai’s populace falls again as migrant workers, births continue worrisome declines
- With nearly 25 million people, Shanghai is China’s most densely packed urban metropolis, and the city’s population decline predates the nation’s by years
- An exodus of jobseekers from other regions, an inability to convince couples to have children, an ageing population and zero-Covid measures took a toll on Shanghai last year
China’s most densely packed urban metropolis lost a quarter million migrant workers last year amid its disruptive coronavirus-induced lockdowns, resulting in Shanghai’s total population falling for the third time since 2015, local authorities said on Tuesday.
The economic hub had around 24.76 million people last year, down by 135,400 compared with 2021, according to figures issued by the municipal bureau of statistics.
While the number of local residents slightly increased, the population decline was affected by the exodus of jobseekers from other regions, along with a low birth rate and an increasingly ageing population, the bureau said.
People aged 65 and above accounted for 18.7 per cent of Shanghai’s total population, well above the national average of 14.9 per cent.