Concerns over an ageing population and a shrinking workforce led Chinese authorities to allow all couples to have a second child from January 1, 2016. Photo: AFP

China sees 1.3 million more new babies in 2016 ... but workforce shrinks as population ages

Increase to 17.86 million newborns last year much smaller than government expected despite new two-child policy, with ‘chronic’ fall in births predicted from 2018

Topic | China's population

Zhuang Pinghui in Beijing and Josh Ye

Published: 10:00pm, 21 Jan, 2017

Updated: 8:46pm, 20 Jul, 2018

Concerns over an ageing population and a shrinking workforce led Chinese authorities to allow all couples to have a second child from January 1, 2016. Photo: AFP

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Zhuang Pinghui

Based in Beijing, Zhuang Pinghui joined the Post in 2004 to report on China. She covers a range of issues including policy, healthcare, culture and society.

Josh Ye

Josh is a reporter at Abacus. He was previously a reporter and a video producer for the South China Morning Post. Graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a major in English and philosophy, he's now pursuing a law degree at the University of Hong Kong. Outside of work, he's a pop culture junkie, an avid listener of audiobooks and a huge fan of American sports.