China clocked its lowest birth rate on record in 2025 as its population shrank for the fourth year in a row, deepening a demographic challenge that could drag on the world’s second-largest economy for decades to come.

China's birth rates sunk to a record low in 2025, despite the government rolling out a spate of incentives to boost it, as the country's population fell for the fourth straight year. Government data on Monday showed that the country's birth rate fell to 5.

China has recorded its lowest number of births in more than 75 years, despite numerous efforts by the government to boost population growth.

China's birthrate fell to a record low last year, underscoring a deepening demographic crisis as Beijing struggled to reverse a shrinking and aging population.

China's birth rate plunged last year to its lowest level on record, official data showed on Monday, as its population shrank for a fourth straight year despite efforts to curb the decline.

China recorded its lowest birth rate on record in 2025, the statistics office in Beijing reported on Monday. The rate fell to 5.

It is now threatened with a demographic crisis after its birth rate halved over the past decade, despite the end of the restrictive "one-child" policy.

China’s demographic issue is especially acute, with a growing cohort of retirees and a shrinking number of workers.