China's birthrate has dropped to its lowest level since 1978. Data released by the country's national bureau of statistics shows there were 8. 5 births per 1,000 people in 2020, the first time in decades that the figure has fallen below 10. The statistical yearbook, released at the weekend, said the natural rate of population growth-taking in births and deaths—was at a new low of 1. 45.
The government is under pressure to prevent a potential population decline after decades of policies on childbirth and more recent pressures including high living costs. It did not give reasons for the dramatic drop, but demographers（人口统计学家）have previously pointed to the relatively low number of women of child-bearing age and the rising cost of raising a family.
Governments and local authorities have introduced a series of policies seeking to turn around the trend, from relaxing limits on having children, to easing costs associated with education and child raising, and introducing mandatory（强制的）"cooling off" periods for divorces. China's yearbook revealed a fall in divorces for the first time since at least 1985, to about 4. 3m, though there were also fewer marriages, 8. 14m, compared with 9. 27m the year before.
But it appears the government's policies have so far failed to adequately address young people's concerns about the costs associated with having children. What the Chinese government is doing has already been done by the Japanese government, and the former is not as rich as the latter. Japan can provide free healthcare and education, but China can't.
Yao Meixiong, a demographics expert and adjunct professor at Huaqiao University's school of economics and finance, told the local outlet Jiemian that the low levels of desire to have children was a wake-up call for China's development.
"The response to the population crisis is in a race against time, and measures to encourage childbirth must speed up," Yao said.
