China announces new measures to boost childbirth as birth rate continues to fall

China's state council has introduced new measures to create a "childbirth-friendly society" and support childbirth amid the country's sharply declining birth rates, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

These measures focus on strengthening childbirth and childcare services, expanding support in education, housing, and employment, and fostering a "new culture" around marriage and childbearing.

A report in South China Morning Post, citing data by China’s Education Ministry, revealed that the number of kindergartens in the country fell by 14,808 in 2023, reducing the total to 274,400. This is the second consecutive annual decline, underscoring China's falling birth rate.

In 2023, China's population dropped for a second year in a row by over two million to 1.4 billion, recording just nine million births. This was the lowest figure since record-keeping began in 1949.

China now faces a dual demographic challenge: the elderly population is also rising rapidly along with the declining birth and fertility rates. By the end of 2023, nearly 300 million people in China were aged 60 and above, a figure expected to exceed 400 million by 2035 and reach 500 million by 2050, according to Xinhua news agency.

The demographic crisis is largely attributed to the decades-old one-child policy, which ended in 2016. In 2021, the government further revised the policy, allowing families to have up to three children.