China Again Delays Release of Census Data; Expert Speculates Sharp Decline in Population

Pedestrians walk past a billboard for China's coming census in Beijing on Oct. 29, 2010. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has again delayed the release of the 2020 census results. An expert suspects that the CCP needs time to massage the figures.

The seventh population census of China was completed in early December 2020. In March, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that the census results would be released in early April.