China reports its population declined for the third consecutive year in 2024

China announced on Friday that its population declined for the third consecutive year in 2024, continuing a downward trend that follows more than six decades of growth. The country is grappling with a rapidly aging population and persistently low birth rates. Once the world's most populous nation, China was surpassed by India in 2023, and Beijing is trying to reverse the decline with measures like subsidies and pro-fertility campaigns. By the end of 2024, China's population stood at 1.408 billion, down from 1.410 billion in 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. 

However, the decline this year was less pronounced than in 2023, when the drop was more than double that of 2022, the data revealed. 

China ended its strict "one-child policy" in 2016, which had been implemented in the 1980s due to fears of overpopulation, and allowed couples to have up to three children starting in 2021. Despite these efforts, the demographic decline persists in a country that has long depended on its large workforce as a key driver of economic growth. 

Experts suggest that the falling birth rates are driven by the soaring cost of living, along with more women entering the workforce and pursuing higher education. By 2035, nearly a third of China's population is expected to be over 60, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.