China’s total natural population[1] dropped by more than 2 million in 2023, according to the latest Chinese statistics. The country recorded 9.0 million births and 11.1 million deaths. Births continued their precipitous post-2016 decline—now down by more than 50 percent in just eight years—while deaths ticked up marginally again. This chart shows trends in Chinese birth and death rates (per 1,000 capita) since 1985, illustrating the recent collapse of birth numbers and the start of China’s total population decline—when deaths outnumber births—in 2022.
A birth number of about 9 million…
