China’s population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025. It dropped by 339 million to 1.405 billion, according to official data. The decline was steeper than the drop in 2024.
For decades, a government policy stopped people from having more than one baby. The limit was raised to two children in 2015.
Then, with added pressure, the government increased the limit to three children in 2021. But the total number of births dropped to 7.92 million in 2025, its lowest in decades.
Most families say the costs and pressure of raising a child are the biggest reasons not to have a baby.
Marriages in China are also declining. To increase this number and encourage people to marry, China now allows couples to get married anywhere in the country, rather than only where they reside.
