News
China’s population falls for third year in a row amid birthrate decline
- /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-3.jpeg&description=China’s population falls for third year in a row amid birthrate decline', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-3.jpeg&description=China’s population falls for third year in a row amid birthrate decline', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
By Francesca Hangeior.
China said on Friday its population fell for the third year running in 2024, extending a downward streak after more than six decades of growth as the country faces a rapidly ageing population and persistently low birth rates.
Once the world’s most populous country, China was overtaken by India in 2023, with Beijing seeking to boost falling birth rates through subsidies and pro-fertility propaganda.
The population stood at 1.408 billion by the end of the year, Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics said, down from 1.410 billion in 2023.
The decline was less sharp than the previous year, when it was more than double the fall reported for 2022, data showed.
China ended its strict “one-child policy”, imposed in the 1980s over overpopulation fears, in 2016 and started letting couples have three children in 2021.
But that has failed to reverse the demographic decline for a country that has long relied on its vast workforce as a driver of economic growth.
Many say falling birth rates are due to the soaring cost of living, as well as the growing number of women going into the workforce and seeking higher education.
Population decline is likely to continue due to gloomy economic prospects for young people and as Chinese women “confront entrenched labour market gender discriminations”, Yun Zhou, a sociologist at the University of Michigan, told AFP.
People over 60 are expected to make up nearly a third of China’s population by 2035, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research group.
Data released on Friday showed that the population aged 60 and over reached 310.31 million — just a few percentage points short of a quarter of the country and an increase from nearly 297 million recorded in 2023.
However, the data also showed China’s birth rate — among the lowest in the world — ticked up slightly from the previous year to 6.77 per 1,000 people.
“This uptick is unlikely to last, as the population of childbearing-age women is projected to decline sharply in the coming decades,” said Zhao Litao, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute.
“In the long term, the trends of declining births, overall population contraction, and rapid ageing remain unchanged.”
He Yafu, an independent demographer in China, put the uptick in births down to women who deferred having children during the Covid-19 pandemic giving birth. There was also an increase in marriages in 2023 and 2024, the auspicious Year of the Dragon.
However, “the general trend of total population decline won’t change”, He told newsmen.
“Unless strong policies to encourage childbirth are introduced… the proportion of the elderly population will continue to rise.”
Officials said in September they would gradually raise the statutory retirement age, which was set at 60 and among the lowest in the world. It had not been raised for decades.
China’s previous retirement age was set at a time of widespread scarcity and impoverishment, before market reforms brought comparative wealth and rapid improvements in nutrition, health and living conditions.
The world’s second-largest economy now has to contend with slowing growth, while a fast-greying population and a baby bust have piled pressure on pension and public health systems.
News
Teenage girl allegedly stabbed parents to de@th, stabbed family dog, sent crime scene photos to friends
A 15-year-old girl from Groningen in the Netherlands was arrested after her parents, Johan and Mathilda, both 53, were found f@tally stabbed last Thursday, June 18, Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad reported.
The family’s pet golden retriever also suffered stab wounds in the rampage, the Sun reported.
The dog’s condition is unclear.
The girl took images of her slain parents and then shared the disturbing photos with her friends on WhatsApp after the bloody attack, the Telegraaf reported.
“You could see both of her parents lying on the ground with their eyes open. Her father was lying on the floor, and her mother was on the bed. There was blood visible and a knife,” one student told the outlet in Dutch.
Local police declined to comment further on the images, but encouraged people to never distribute such images online and report them to the police, the reports said.
The girl reportedly struggled with her identity and often pretended to be a dog, crawling around and barking on all fours with other friends in school corridors.
“She wore a tail, dog ears, and gloves,” another classmate told the outlet. “And sometimes she would make barking sounds.”
Johan and Mathilda’s relatives said in a statement obtained by Algemeen Dagblad that they “can hardly comprehend” the murd£rs.
‘We hope that everyone understands that we are deeply affected by the tragic events surrounding the passing of Johan and Mathilda from Meerstad,” family and friends said in a statement through an aid organization.
“But the support and sympathy we have received from many do us good and are heartwarming.”
An investigation into the slayings remains ongoing.
News
OGTV broadcaster: Police recover stolen Lexus RX300 as CP vows “no stone unturned” in murder probe
Ogun State Police Command says it has recovered the Lexus RX300 stolen from the home of slain ex-OGTV broadcaster Mrs Kitan Oyesiku and her security guard in Iyana Agodo Village, Owode-Egba.
The recovery happened during night operations, the command confirmed Monday.
—CP walks the scene himself—
Commissioner of Police Bode Ojajuni visited the crime scene for an on-the-spot assessment. He inspected the premises and got briefings from detectives handling the case.
“CP Ojajuni reiterated the Command’s resolve to leave no stone unturned in unraveling the circumstances surrounding the incident and ensuring that those responsible are identified, apprehended, and brought to justice,” Police PPRO Oluseyi Babaseyi said in a statement.
The visit, according to police, was to evaluate progress in the investigation into the double murder that has rattled the Owode-Egba community.
—What happened that night—
PUNCH Online had reported that a resident raised the alarm over suspicious movements around Oyesiku’s residence. When operatives arrived, they found signs of forced entry.
Inside, the security guard was found dead at his post. Oyesiku’s body was later discovered inside the apartment. Her Lexus RX300 was missing.
Police now say the vehicle has been secured and will serve as key evidence. “It is worthy of note that the vehicle earlier reported missing from the residence, a Lexus RX300, has been recovered by police operatives during the night hours,” Babaseyi confirmed.
—“Intensive investigation ongoing”–
Ojajuni commiserated with Oyesiku’s family and assured Ogun residents that “all available resources are being deployed to track down the perpetrators.”
For now, no arrests have been announced. But with the car recovered and the CP personally monitoring the case, police say they’re closing in.
Oyesiku, a retired broadcaster with Ogun State Television, was remembered by colleagues as a calm voice on air. Her death, alongside her guard’s, has renewed calls for better security for elderly residents living alone in semi-urban areas. [The Punch report rewritten]
News
Tinubu set to Flag-Off Construction of Service Carriageways of the Southern Parkway, from Arterial Road S20 (Oladipo Diya way) to Ring Road II, today
President Tinubu Will Flag-Off Construction of Service Carriageways of the Southern Parkway, from Arterial Road S20 (Oladipo Diya way) to Ring Road II and Collector Road CO1 from Nile University area to Ring Road III (Extension of Body of Benchers road) Today
#FCTRenewedHope
#FCTProjectsCommissioning
Teenage girl allegedly stabbed parents to de@th, stabbed family dog, sent crime scene photos to friends
SEE Dollar to Naira exchange rate today, June 23, 2026
OGTV broadcaster: Police recover stolen Lexus RX300 as CP vows “no stone unturned” in murder probe
-
Sports22 hours agoEgypt’s historic World Cup win over New Zealand, will be remembered for a long time-Sallah
-
News23 hours agoDAY 9 of Projects Commissioning in the FCT: Watch moment Wike arrives Karu(Video)
-
News22 hours agoSAD! Lassa Fever Kills 214, Fatality Rate Rises To 25% — NCDC
-
News22 hours agoPlateau boils again, 25 feared dead as bandits invade community
-
News11 hours agoWait for 2027, Presidency Tells Peter Obi Amid Calls for Tinubu’s Resignation
-
News22 hours agoSouth Africa deploy security personnel nationwide ahead of anti-migrant deadline
-
News11 hours agoEl-Rufai confessed to wiretapping NSA’s phone on TV interview- witness
-
News11 hours agoTinubu Appoints Former UNILAG VC Ogundipe as NUC Governing Board Chairman
Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 49
You must be logged in to post a comment Login