China’s Official Birth Rate Falls to Lowest in Decades

Despite incentives, young Chinese—who grapple with high urban living costs and job uncertainty amid an economic slowdown—are reluctant to start families.

A man pushes a child in a stroller along a street on the Bund in Shanghai on Jan. 19, 2026. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

China recorded its lowest birth rate ever in 2025, underscoring the challenges Beijing faces in averting a demographic crisis of its own making.

Only 7.92 million babies were born last year, down from the 9.54 million registered in 2024, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.