Chinese capital saw more deaths than births in 2022 as high cost of living and education as well as legacy of one-child policy take their toll
“Given the high living and education cost and education levels in Beijing, it is very normal that the birthrate of permanent residents is low,” said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia.and stave off the economic impacts of an ageing population.
Last year official data showed China’s birthrate had fallen to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, the lowest on record. The population figures for Beijing are based on the permanent residents of the city, and don’t include the large numbers of migrant workers who travel from their home provinces searching for economic opportunity.
For decades, China’s one-child policy was brutally enforced, and was lifted only in 2016. Authorities are now encouraging couples to have more than one child but people are choosing not to, citing factors including the rising cost of living, pressures of traditional gender roles and demanding work cultures.
“It is too difficult to marry and have children to live a stable life,” said one 42-year-old Beijing resident who came to the city from a rural family. “I was admitted to a university in Beijing and stayed for work … In the past few years, the economic environment has not been good, I am getting older. I was laid off a few times. I was unemployed for three months this year before I found a job, and my salary was only half of what it used to be. It is impossible to buy a house in Beijing.”– had on the figures published on Wednesday.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
John Howard’s 2003 march to war with Iraq appears to have taught our current parliament littleCoalition senators offered both vague laments and staunch justifications, while the Greens found an unlikely ally
Read more »
China should ‘encourage’ Putin to withdraw the ‘Russian invaders’ from UkraineNDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten says China should encourage President Vladimir Putin to withdraw the “Russian invaders” from Ukrainian soil. Mr Shorten’s remarks come after China’s President Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. “China is taking its place in the world,” Mr Shorten told Sky News Australia. “I think as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China shouldn’t contradict its stated desire for peace – it should actually back it in.”
Read more »
‘Window dressing’: China’s proposed peace plan to end Ukraine warLowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor says China's proposed peace plan to end the Ukraine war is window dressing. His comments come as Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes President Xi Jinping to Moscow for a state visit to discuss Beijing’s Ukraine peace proposal. “China trying to reposition themselves as a player and after this trip, I think Xi will talk to Ukraine's president Mr Zelensky for the first time,” he told Sky News Australia. “China trying to use this to sort of get out of the hole it been forced to dig itself in as the result of the invasion. “In the big picture it's window dressing, but China wants to manage its position now, it also wants to be ready for when the War does end it doesn’t want to be completely alienated from Europe. “China doesn’t want to put all its eggs in the Russian basket … but the bottom line is it will not abandon Russia and Xi will not abandon Putin”.
Read more »
Armed men kill nine Chinese nationals in Central African RepublicRebel alliance Coalition of Patriots for Change denies responsibility after mayor accuses them of attack
Read more »
‘A bloody scandal’: Secret Chinese data that could have changed the course of the pandemicNewly released data collected by Chinese scientists at the start of the pandemic raises major questions about what they knew about the true origins of the virus.
Read more »