TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Chinese government data on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, revealed that mainland China's population has declined for the first time in 61 years. To date, China is listed as the most populous country in the world, reaching 1.4 billion by the end of 2022.

However, the title of China as the most populous country has been taken over by India due to several people in the country beginning to age rapidly.

The Chinese government stated the country's population, which does not include the population residing in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, would be exactly about 1.411 billion by the end of 2022. That number went down 850,000 compared to the previous year.

The population of 1.411 billion in China is less than the population in India which reached 1.412 billion in 2022 or precisely as predicted by the United Nations. whereas the birth rate in China in 2022 has dropped to 6.77 per thousand people, which is down from 7.52 in the previous year.

China's birth rate has hit a new record low since 1949 during the era of Mao Zedong establishing the People's Republic of China under the influence of communism. China's population has aged, largely due to the one-child policy that was implemented in 1979.

However, the policy was revoked under the government of Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 due to growing fears that a rapidly ageing population would hamper China's economic expansion.

ANTARA | IMAJI LASAHIDO (INTERN)

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