India is anticipated to surpass the Communist powerhouse as the world's most populous nation in the coming years as China's birth rate reaches an all-time low in 2022. The country's statistics bureau estimates that China had 1.4118 billion people in 2022, a decrease of 850,000 from 2021. The national birth rate, which was 6.77 births per 1,000 people, also reached a record low.
India is projected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, more than China's 1.317 billion by the middle of this century.
As of 2021, China's population is estimated to be around 1.4 billion people, while India's population is estimated to be about 1.3 billion people. However, it is projected that India's population will surpass China's. According to the United Nations, India is expected to become the world's most populous country by 2027.
The increase in the number of women entering the workforce and pursuing higher education, as well as the rising cost of living, have been cited by analysts as contributing factors to the slowdown.
The announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) comes at a time when China's economic growth has slowed to its second-lowest level in five decades, with a three percent increase in 2022.
According to a recent United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs report, Population Division, India is expected to overtake China as the world's most populous country in 2023.
According to the report, India's population is expected to reach 1.668 billion in 2050, surpassing China's 1.317 billion by the middle of the century.
"China and India have large populations, and we have a large labor force. This is a powerful internal economic development dynamic "Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, stated.
"The two countries should use their population dividends to advance each other's national development and contribute more to the international community." "He stated.
According to the report, China's birth rate in 2022 will be 6.77 births per 1,000 people, down from 7.52 in 2021. Last year, the national death rate was 7.37 per 1,000 people, putting the natural growth rate at -0.6 per 1,000 people.
China reported a population decline for the last time in 1961.
China's concern is not only a declining population, exacerbated by the decades-old "one-child policy," which was repealed in 2016 but also a rapidly aging population.
Chinese citizens can now have up to three children under the revised policy. Every decade, China conducts a nationwide population census, with the most recent one taking place in 2020.
In a non-national census year, such as 2022, China conducts a population sampling survey on November 1 each year, which means the number of deaths in December is not available, according to an NBS official.
Cai Fang, former deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, previously stated that China's total population size peaked in 2022, much earlier than expected, implying that the country's population will maintain negative growth from 2023 or enter an era of negative growth.