Births in China will decline 15% in 2020 due to Corona

The Ministry of Public Security in China revealed that the number of births decreased by 15 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, with the emergence of the Corona virus and its impact on the economy and decisions to start a family.

The ministry said on Monday that China witnessed 10,035 million births last year, compared to 11.79 million in 2019. The proportion of males born last year was 52.7 percent, while the percentage of females was 47.3 percent.

In recent years, many couples have hesitated to have children due to the high cost of health care, education and housing. The abandonment of the decades-old one-child policy in 2016 did not significantly affect the number of births in the country.

Economic concerns caused by the Coronavirus in the past year have affected childbearing decisions, resulting in a continued long-term decline in births in the world's most populous country.

About 20 percent of Chinese citizens, or about 250 million, are 60 years or older.

Source: Reuters