2023-10-16 05:00:00
The Government of the Asian giant will carry out consultations with its population, after registering a negative demographic balance last year of 850,000 inhabitants
16 oct 2023 . Updated at 05:00 a.m.
China announced that a national macro survey to better understand the population and plan future demographic policies. Behind this project is the failure of the Government in its attempts to encourage births.
In 2022 the number of births will drop below ten million and the first population drop in six decades was recorded, losing 850,000 inhabitants. The aging of the population poses great challenges for the country that will reduce the workforce while increasing the number of older people who will need care. Calculations predict that in 2035 the number of people over 60 years of age will reach 400 million.
At the moment the Government has tried to encourage births with economic aid for having a second or third child and an increase in maternity leave days. The incentives range from direct aid, similar to the baby check, to tax reductions or facilities for buying a home. But they are stimuli that can only convince couples who are already determined or can financially afford to have a child. The construction of public daycare centers has also been promised, but this is a process that will take time.
The National Bureau of Statistics of China announced that during the month of November it will conduct a survey in urban and rural areas throughout the country. According to the statement published in the local press, the objective is to help accurately and timely monitor changes in the development of China’s population and provide a basis for the Communist Party and the government formulate national economic policiessocial development and related to the population.
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The survey will collect data on the number of inhabitants per household, their ethnicity, marital status, employment, level of education, migration and mobility, number of children and housing conditions.
At the congress of the Chinese Communist Party held in October last year, the need to implement active policies to boost birth rates and reduce child-rearing expenses was insisted upon. A 2019 report revealed that the average cost of raising a child until age 18 equivalent to 6.9 times the GDP per capita of the country.
At the moment Beijing has not got the measures right. The relaxation of the one-child law, which now allows up to three children, has not changed the downward trend in births.
According to data published by the National Health Commission, in 2022 babies born second or third decreased by more than 678,000 and 106,000 respectively, compared to the previous year.
Education at a high price
The high price of a good education is the main reason given by couples. But there are other factors such as the woman, who is the one who mostly takes care of the children, prioritizing her professional career and delaying or even giving up motherhood.
Although paternity leave is officially supported, the reality is that it is practically not used. The law has also been tightened to prevent the dismissal of pregnant women, but asking about future motherhood is still common in job interviews.
Filed in: China Asia
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