China’s National Bureau of Statistics released data showing the country’s birth rate fell to a new record low in 2025, with just 8.5 million births recorded — down from 9.02 million the previous year.

The figures underscore the deepening demographic crisis facing the world’s second-largest economy, despite Beijing’s efforts to incentivize childbirth through subsidies, extended parental leave, and relaxed family planning policies.

“The demographic transition in China is happening faster than anyone in the central government anticipated,” said Professor Wang Feng, a demographer at the University of California, Irvine. “The economic consequences will be profound and long-lasting.”

Local governments in provinces like Jiangxi and Liaoning have introduced increasingly generous incentives, including cash bonuses of up to 20,000 yuan per child and priority access to public housing. However, surveys consistently show that young Chinese cite high costs of living, career pressures, and changing social attitudes as the primary reasons for delaying or forgoing parenthood.

The declining birth rate, combined with China’s rapidly aging population, is projected to shrink the working-age population by 35 million over the next decade, creating significant challenges for economic growth and the social safety net.