---
title: "China’s Population Just Dropped for the First Time in 60 Years"
description: "According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the world's most populous country's population declined in 2022, the first time in 60 years."
date: "2023-01-17"
modified: "2023-01-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinas-population-dropped-first-time-60-years"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "population decline"
  - "the digest"
---

# China’s Population Just Dropped for the First Time in 60 Years

![According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the world's most populous country's population declined in 2022, the first time in 60 years.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/chinas-population-dropped-first-time-60-years.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty Images\</em\>*

## Pop Drop

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the world's most populous country's population declined in 2022 — for the first time in 60 years, [*CNBC* reports](<https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/17/chinas-population-drops-for-the-first-time-in-decades.html>).

The news could be the canary in the coal mine for an impending and massive demographic shift, as people there have fewer children.

Experts [have long predicted](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/population-decline-china>) that the country is facing an impending and potentially disastrous population drop in the upcoming years, with some arguing that its population [could drop by half](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-population-half-30-years>) in just three decades.

Basically, at a time when the country's population as growing quickly, its attempts to stem the growth overshot — and by the time officials there [loosened China's ](<https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3135510/chinas-one-child-policy-what-was-it-and-what-impact-did-it>)[one-child policy](<https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3135510/chinas-one-child-policy-what-was-it-and-what-impact-did-it>), it was too late.

## Contractions

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's population fell by 850,000 last year to 1.41 billion, excluding foreigners. Over the same period, it experienced roughly one million fewer births than deaths.

"The contraction of the total population reflects the impact of the pandemic and the associated economic downturn on fertility demand," said principal economist Yue Su in a statement, as quoted by *CNBC*.

But as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic wind down, Yue noted that the population may grow once more in the short term.

On the world stage, China will likely go through a number of changes as its population begins to age rapidly.

"In the long run, we are going to see a China the world has never seen," Wang Feng, a professor of sociology at the University of California, [told *The New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/business/china-birth-rate.html>). "It will no longer be the young, vibrant, growing population."

"We will start to appreciate China, in terms of its population, as an old and shrinking population," he added.

## Shrinking GDP

And that could have severe economical consequences for an economic powerhouse that relies on its considerable labor pool.

In fact, according to data [released by China's government](<https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/business/china-gdp-fourth-quarter-2022.html>), China's gross domestic product grew only three percent, a new low point in almost four decades.

To stop the population from shrinking, officials now have the task of encouraging women to have children, which is proving increasingly difficult as more and more women become more educated and are choosing to live a child-free life.

**READ MORE:** [China’s population drops for the first time in decades](<https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/17/chinas-population-drops-for-the-first-time-in-decades.html>) \[*CNBC*\]

**More on China's population:** *[China's Population Projected to Fall by Half Within 30 Years](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-population-half-30-years>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)