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China’s overall population fell by 2.08 million in 2023, while births declined by 5.6 per cent to 9.02 million.

China’s overall population fell by 2.08 million last year to 1.4097 billion, down from 1.4118 billion in 2022, while births declined by 5.6 per cent to 9.02 million in 2023, data released on Wednesday showed.

China's population growth has been slowing since 2016 as the high cost of raising children, a greater pursuit of individualism and a diversified lifestyle dampen enthusiasm to start a family.

Tilting social welfare policies in favor of young people to encourage new births in the face of a low birth rate has been a common view in Chinese society. However, the idea of offering a house as a gift to young parents upon the birth of a child, proposed by a Chinese professor, hasn't received as much support. The suggestion has ignited a firestorm of online discussions and debates.

Several Chinese inland cities will organize group sea burials in April and May with the service fees covered by local civil affairs authorities to promote green burial practices, which take less farmland and resources and are friendly to the environment. Hohhot in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will hold a collective burial ceremony from May 9 to May 10 at the sea area near the coastal city of Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province, according to a government notice.