China has become close to losing its title as words most populated country to India after its first shrank in population since the 40s.

According to Simone McCarthy of CNN Hong Kong, “The population fell in 2022 to 1.411 billion, down some 850,000 people from the previous year.” This data was announced by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. 

It was reported that this was the first decline since 1961 during the “great famine triggered by former leader Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward.” (CNN). Zhiwei Zhange, the president and chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management stated, “The population will likely trend down from here in coming years. This is very important, with implications for potential growth and domestic demand”. 

The birth rate reportedly has fallen to a record low of 6.77 births per 1,000 people. Falling down from a record of 7.52 a year and being the lowest level since 1949. 9.56 million babies were born compared to the previous year, 2021, with 10.62 million. This was despite the push from the government to encourage married couples to have children. 

This was announced to be one of “China’s worst annual economic performances” in almost half a century, with the economy expanding by nearly 3%. Which is far below China’s government’s target. Following the UN’s prediction in 2022 that India will surpass China and become the world’s most populated country in 2023. 

China’s crisis is expected to have an increasing growth impact in the next few years has become a concern for policymakers. CNN states, “Beijing scrapped its decades-long and highly controversial “one child” policy in 2015, after realizing the restriction had contributed to a rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce that could severely distress the country’s economic and social stability.” In 2015, the Chinese government announced that married couples could have two children but in 2016 a uptick, the birth rates has continued to fall.