China’s total population declines for three consecutive years… Elderly population exceeds 300 million

China’s total population declines for three consecutive years… Elderly population exceeds 300 million


Refer Report


An obstetrics and gynecology nurse in Wuhan, China, holds a newborn baby. Taken on February 21, 2020. /Getty Images

China’s total population has decreased for three consecutive years, and the number of people aged 60 or older has exceeded 300 million.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on the 17th that China’s total population last year was 1.4828 billion. This is a decrease of 1.39 million people from 1.40967 million at the end of 2023. China’s population has continued to decline for three consecutive years after recording its first decline in 61 years since statistics were compiled in 2022.

The number of births has been below 10 million for three consecutive years. Last year, the annual number of births was 9.54 million, a slight increase from the previous year (9.02 million), but fell below 10 million for three consecutive years from 2022. Last year, the number of deaths reached 10.93 million.

The working age population aged 16 to 59 was 857.98 million, a decrease from the previous year (864.81 million). The proportion of this age group in the total population also decreased to 60.9%, following 2022 (62.0%) and 2023 (61.3%).

The population aged 60 or older reached 310.31 million, accounting for 22.0% of the total population, exceeding 300 million for the first time. As of the end of 2023, China’s population aged 60 or older was 296.97 million. Last year, there were 220.23 million people aged 65 or older, accounting for 15.6% of the total population. China considers people over 60 years old to be the elderly population, and the international standard is 65 years or older.


Last year, the population living in cities was 943.5 million, an increase of 10.83 million from the previous year. On the other hand, the population living in rural areas decreased by 10,222 people to 464.78 million. The proportion of the urban population in the total population (urbanization rate) is 67.0%, an increase of 0.84 percentage points compared to the end of 2023.

Source: Korean