Births continue to fall in 2020

From almost 12 million in 2019 to just over 10 million last year. Some provinces report a 30% drop. The failure of the regime's demographic control policies. Over the next 30 years, China will lose 200 million working-age adults and have 300 million more retirees.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) – China’s national birth rate continues to plummet according to the latest data issues yesterday by the Ministry of Public Security. In 2020, there were 10.03 million babies born: the previous year the number was 11.79 million.

The data confirms a negative trend year on year. In 2019, the authorities had registered 14.65 million births; 15.23 million in 2018.

The figure is partial and concerns families registered in the "hukou" system, which binds access to social benefits to the place of official residence. Many citizens choose not to register to avoid fines for violating state-imposed birth limits. The National Bureau of Statistics will publish the official fertility rate in April, at the end of the national census.

The drop in births recorded by the ministry is 15%. Data provided by some provinces speak of an even greater drop, around 30%. The industrial zones in the east and south reported the worst numbers.

Analysts say the data confirms the failure of the past one-child policy. Moreover, the extension to two children per family has failed to change the situation.

According to a study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, beginning in 2027 the working age population will begin to decline, with serious pension problems for the elderly. According to United Nations calculations, Beijing has little chance of reversing this course: in the next 30 years the Asian giant will lose 200 million adults of working age and end up with 300 million more pensioners: an economic and social time bomb.