Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Chinese birth rate falls to lowest since PRC
was formed
The crude birth rate in a year is the total
number of births per 1,000 population. Seven decades ago, the world’s average
birth rate was around 37 births per 1,000 total population but now it fell by half to 18.5 now.
China is the world’s most populous country
with over 1.4 billion population. Although its population is still growing, the
birth rate has been declining and hit the record low last year since the nation
was established 70 years ago. While 14.65 million babies were produced last
year, the figure represents a birthrate of 10.48 per 1,000, lower than the US’s
12 but higher than Japan’s eight.
This falling birth rate poses a big concern
for China’s social and demographic balance in the future because a fewer number
of the young and middle-aged population are going to have to support the senior
generation. Is the long-blamed single-child policy to blame? But falling birth
rate is a common problem among eastern Asian countries like Japan and Korea.
How the world’s largest population, and also the
second-largest economy is going to cope with the timebomb may affect the world
economy.
Enjoy reading the article and think about what
could have caused the declining birth rate in China.
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