As of the end of 2025, China's population stood at 1 billion 404.89 million people, which is 3.39 million less compared to the figures at the end of 2024. This data was published in a report by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, available here.
During 2025, 7.92 million children were born in the country, which is lower compared to the previous year when this figure was 9.54 million. The birth rate was 5.63 per thousand population. During the same period, 11.31 million people died, while in 2024, there were 10.93 million deaths recorded. The mortality rate in 2025 was 8.04 per thousand. This resulted in a natural population decline of 2.41 per thousand. In terms of gender distribution: there are 716.85 million men and 688.04 million women.
According to the latest data, China is facing the problem of an aging population – the number of people over 60 years old has reached 323.38 million, accounting for 23% of the total population. There is also a rise in urbanization: the number of urban residents increased by 10.3 million, totaling 953.8 million (67.9% of the total population). At the same time, there is a decrease in the rural population by 13.69 million, now totaling 451.09 million people.
According to Reuters, China has been experiencing a population decline for the fourth consecutive year, with the most significant decrease occurring last year. The number of newborns has reached the lowest level in decades, creating additional challenges for the Chinese government in terms of stimulating domestic consumption.
