China's Population Drops for the Last Two Years

China – Population in China dropped for a second consecutive year, according official data released on Wednesday. 

The country's population started shrinking in 2022 for the first time in six decades and it lost its tag of world's largest populated nation to India last year. 

Data by China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that the birth rate in the world's second largest population hit a new low while the death rate hit a peak not seen in more than a half-century. 

"The overall population in mainland China fell by 2.08 million last year to 1.4097 billion, down from 1.4118 billion in 2022," the Hong Kong-based daily said, as reported from the Sun daily. 

The number of new babies born last year was 9.02 million, down by 5.6 percent from 9.56 million in 2022. 

"The failing number of new babies last year resulted in the lowest birth rate since records began in 1949, with 6.39 births for every 1,000 people compared with 6,77 percent in 202," it added. 

China's National Bureau of Statistics also registered a growth of 5.2 percent in gross domestic product last year to hit 126 trillion yuan or US$17.6 trillion.