The dragon to lose fire?

Long the world's most populous country, China could soon see its population surpassed by fast-growing India. In 2022, according to UN data, India had a population of 1.4066 billion, just trailing China's 1.4485 billion. The last time China is believed to have seen its population dip was during a tumultuous period known as the Great Leap Forward that began in the 1950s....

China's fertility rates were already decreasing in the 1970s, and by 1980, the Chinese government formally instituted the controversial one-child policy, legally restricting families from having more than one baby. This resulted in low fertility rates and a large ageing population. In 2015, China ended the one-child policy and began allowing married couples to have two children. It expanded the allowance again in 2021, permitting up to three kids.

Stuart Gietel-Basten, a professor of social science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, says that China's shrinking population doesn't necessarily mean the country will see its economic growth shrivel.


The government has already been investing in services for its ageing population, he noted, and it will try to increase productivity among the many workers it still has. 'There's really still a lot of levers that can be pulled in China,' he said.

From 'Here's Why China's Population Dropped for the

First Time in Decades', NPR