China records 1st population fall in decades as births drop

BEIJING (AP) — For the first time in decades, China has fewer people than it did at the start of last year. The world’s most populous country has worried for years about an aging citizenry’s effect on its economy and society, but the population was not expected to go into decline for almost a decade. The National Bureau of Statistics says the country had 850,000 fewer people at the end of 2022 than the previous year. Official figures say over one million fewer babies were born than the previous year, amid a slowing economy and widespread pandemic lockdowns. The bureau reported 9.6 million births in 2022, compared to 10.6 million in 2021.