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Despite 'love' courses and condom tax, China records lowest birth rate since 1949

Edited By Prashasti Satyanand Shetty

Published: Jan 20, 2026, 05:56 IST | Updated: Jan 20, 2026, 06:04 IST

Despite 'love' courses and condom tax, China records lowest birth rate since 1949

China's birth rate lowest since 1949 despite 'love and marriage' university courses Photograph: (Credit: AI)

Story highlights

China has left no stone unturned in its effort to boost marriage and fertility rates by offering childcare subsidies.

China's birth rate is on a decline for the fourth consecutive year despite effort made by authorities. China, which is currently ranked second after India, the most populous country in the world, has been running programmes to curb the dipping birth rate. Official records released on Monday (Jan 19) revealed that the birthrate recorded last year was 7.92 million. Until 2023, the country recorded the highest population, and now data reflects that there were only 5.63 births per thousand people.

It is the lowest birth rate since 1949, according to records collected by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Beijing has left no stone unturned in efforts to boost marriage and fertility rates, offering childcare subsidies. So much so that the country even taxed condoms as it grapples with a rapidly aging population. Nothing changed overnight; the steady decline has been ongoing for a decade. Even the withdrawal of the restrictive “one-child policy” did not change the declining trend.

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In 2024, China recorded 6.77 births per thousand, and in the previous year, the country recorded 9.02 million births, which is 6.39 births per 1,000 people.

Dwindling birth rates and the youth embracing singlehood over marriage are looked at as the contributing factors to the declining number of births in the country. Universities have also introduced ‘love and ’marriage’-related courses to their curriculum. In these courses, the students are taught about relationships and how to build a healthy one.