Low birthrate · Full chronicle and history

On September 19, population expert Huang Wenzheng published an article refuting National Health Commission Director Lei Haichao's statement that the labor force is sufficient. He pointed out that 8-million annual births cannot sustain long-term scale and warned of a demographic collapse in 20 years without substantial improvements in fertility support. The article was subsequently deleted.

The World Economic Forum released the 2026 Global Gender Gap Report, ranking China 96th overall, with the sex ratio at birth indicator ranking third from the bottom globally.

On September 14, Lei Haichao, Director of the National Health Commission, stated that in the face of negative population growth, the fundamentals of China's total population remain unchanged. He proposed actively promoting views on marriage and childbearing, resisting negative views on marriage and childbearing, and simultaneously promoting the integration of childcare and preschool education while reducing the costs of giving birth and raising children.

According to a Caixin report, many contract teachers in Guangzhou’s Huangpu, Haizhu, Panyu and Huadu districts were dismissed by schools before their contracts expired. Due to declining birthrates, primary school enrollment in Guangzhou fell sharply by about 19.9% from 2023 to 2025, and contract teachers who had been hired in large numbers to cope with enrollment peaks now bear the brunt of layoffs.

Affected by the decline in the birth population and the concentration of population in urban areas, the number of primary schools in China has rapidly decreased. Data from the Ministry of Education shows that the number of regular primary schools nationwide has decreased by about 29,700 in five years. Many places have begun to revitalize and utilize idle rural primary and secondary school buildings, converting them into facilities such as elderly care service centers, highlighting the background of accelerating low birth rates and aging population.

On September 9, the financial account Gelonghui Tuji Tianxia released data stating that the number of primary schools in China has decreased by approximately 86% over 45 years.

On August 28, official data showed that China's annual birth population in 2025 was only 7.92 million, continuing the downward trend in births.

1961 was the most brutal year of China's Three Years of Natural Disasters, during which over 10 million Chinese people starved to death, and cannibalism even occurred in rural areas. Despite this, 9.49 million newborns were born that year.