FOR DECADES, CHINA HAS TRIED to rein in its population growth, permitting families only one child. Now, as it faces a decline, Beijing is trying to reverse what appears to be an almost inevitable trend, including by limiting abortions.
In January 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed the population had fallen for the first time in decades—down roughly 850,000 people in 2022 from the previous year’s 1.41 billion.
For a country whose massive workforce has helped push toward a rapid economic expansion, falling birth rates spells pessimism.
Wang Feng, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, and a leading expert on demography, aging and inequality, said the decline in the most populous country is unprecedented.
