00:00An unprecedented birth rate crisis and a sharp acceleration in population aging are pushing China toward a critical demographic turning point.
00:11In 2025, the country's population fell by about 3.39 million people, bringing the total to approximately 1.405 billion, marking the fastest rate of decline compared with the previous year.
00:26This population decrease comes despite a wide range of government measures aimed at encouraging marriage and childbirth.
00:36However, economic pressures, rising housing and education costs and changing lifestyles have limited the effectiveness of these policies.
00:45At the same time, the pace of population aging is accelerating noticeably, placing additional strain on pension systems, health care services and the labor market.
00:56According to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, this marks the fourth consecutive year of population decline.
01:05It also coincides with the number of births falling to its lowest level since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
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