Why Young Chinese Are Shunning Parenthood Despite Beijing’s Pleas

NEW DELHI- While China has introduced a slew of measures to boost its population demographic, the country’s birth count continues to shrink as society rapidly ages, according to a media report.

According to the latest official data, China’s birth count registered a historic low last year, just 7.92 million births, a 17 per cent drop from 9.54 million the previous year and the lowest figure since 1949.

The overall population fell by 3.39 million to 1.4049 billion, while deaths rose to 11.31 million, one of the highest tallies in five decades.

This “underlines the failure of the ongoing accelerated family-support policy and childcare subsidies,” the report said, adding that it reflects “both an ageing society and the lingering demographic imbalance created by decades of restrictive family planning”.

The report also cited concerns shared by Chinese experts over the persisting population decline, which is expected to reshape the country’s economy, job market, and social landscape in the decades ahead.

It flagged socio-economic challenges such as young people marrying late or not at all, rising living costs, housing insecurity, and intense workplace competition, all of which make parenthood less appealing.

“A shrinking and ageing population threatens long-term productivity, strains the pension system, and risks eroding China’s consumer base at a time when the leadership is trying to pivot toward domestic demand-led growth,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the report cited the pronatalist push by Beijing over the past year to boost the country’s demographics.

This includes a national childcare subsidy of up to $1,534 per child under three, the most significant family-support measure since the shift to a three-child policy in 2021.

Other measures include expanding insurance coverage for childbirth-related expenses, tightening regulation of the childcare sector, making marriage registration easier, and tightening divorce procedures.

After a sharp drop to 6.106 million registrations in 2024, the lowest since 1980, there are tentative signs of a rebound in marriages.

“However, the number of women of childbearing age is shrinking, fertility intentions remain weak, and parenthood is being delayed. Without far more comprehensive support, affordable housing, better work-life balance, gender-equal employment practices, and reliable childcare, policy tweaks may only slow, not reverse, the demographic slide,” it added. (IANS)