Check population decline with urgent steps

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 17.23 million newborns were added to China's population last year, down 630,000 year-on-year, and the birth rate dropped from 1.295 percent in 2016 to 1.243 percent in 2017. The declining newborn population and birth rate indicate China could experience negative population growth in the near future.

The demographic reason for the decline in newborns' population is the fall in the number of women of childbearing age. In China, the population of women of childbearing age peaked in 2011. But in 2015 the population of women aged between 15 to 49 years dropped by 5 million year-on-year and that of women aged between 20 to 29 years declined by 1.5 million.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the population of childbearing-age women is expected to reduce by 5 million a year, which will lead to fewer births.