China recorded its third consecutive year of population decline in 2024, despite the country’s first increase in births in almost a decade in a year traditionally regarded as auspicious. Figures released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed the country recorded 9.

Though China’s birth rate rose this year after an all-time low in 2023, the country’s overall population continued its decline.

China said on Friday its population fell for the third year running in 2024, extending a downward streak after more than six decades of growth as the country faces a rapidly ageing population and persistently low birth rates.

China's population shrank for the third year in a row, despite a slight rise in births. Bloomberg Intelligence predicts it could drop to 1.36 billion by 2035, the lowest since 2012, posing risks to the country's economy.

China’s population continued to decline last year—though births edged up for the first time in eight years—falling for a third straight year as deaths outpaced births.China had seen birth numbers plummet since 2017,

China's population has decreased for the third consecutive year. In 2024, the number of deaths exceeded births by 1.39 million. Rapid urbanization, rising living costs, and gender inequalities are deepening the demographic crisis,