Authorities in China's city of Xian will spend 700,000 yuan ($97,000) on lottery tickets to give as prizes to newlyweds who present a marriage certificate, in an effort to encourage weddings at a time of fewer births. China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, with new births dropping to about half those in 2016, while marriages hit a record low in 2022.With marriage rates closely tied to birth rates as unmarried mothers are often denied child-raising benefits, Xian promised a lottery ticket to any couple presenting a marriage certificate from March 1, as "a double surprise". "This is not only the beginning of a happy life after receiving the marriage certificate but also more likely to get a small gift," the city's civil affairs bureau said this week on its official Wechat account.
China’s population fell by 2 million people in 2023, its second straight annual decrease with record low birth rates and an aging population raising economic and societal challenges.
HONG KONG (Reuters) -China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, as a record low birth rate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths when strict lockdowns ended accelerated a downturn that will have profound long-term effects on the economy's growth potential. The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, or 0.15%, to 1.409 billion in 2023. That was well above the population decline of 850,000 in 2022, which had been the first since 1961 during the Great Famine of the Mao Zedong era.
In testimony provided Thursday to members of Congress, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China is not being fueled by a new virus.