More On: China's population bomb
China's population bomb was predicted to go off at some point. Well, it just blew up
China is a peculiar place. When couples sought to have more than one kid, the government warned them that they couldn't. Couples are replying, 'No, one kid is enough for us,' now that the government wants them to have additional children.
In reality, China's population growth rate has dropped dramatically. It is currently at 0.034 percent, the slowest since 1960, when Mao went on a murderous rampage. As a result, China's population bomb has detonated, and we will soon experience the consequences, such as-
- A rapidly ageing population.
- Labour shortages and increasing labour costs.
- Immigration of workers from free countries and social instability in China.
- Declining economic growth rate; and
- Exodus of foreign companies due to rising labour costs.
China's population bomb has detonated
For more than two decades, China's population growth dilemma has been a source of concern for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since 1998, China's population growth rate has been regularly below 1%. Despite Chinese officials exaggerating population estimates, it reached 0.145 percent in 2020.
However, the year 2021 was much worse. China is showing a number of alarming indicators. From 1.4121 billion in 2020 to 1.4126 billion in 2021, China's entire population rose by 480,000 individuals.
Last year, Chinese moms gave birth to a total of 10.62 million children. This is a substantial reduction of 11.5 percent from the previous year's 12 million. The national birth rate has also dropped dramatically, from 8.52 births per 1,000 people in 2020 to 7.52 in 2021, a new low.
In 2021, China's population may have peaked
China's population may have peaked in 2021 and is currently beginning to decrease. This practically implies that, starting in 2022, China's demographic dividend in the shape of a huge population, youthful employees, and inexpensive labor will be wiped altogether.
From 2022, according to He Yafu, an independent demographer, China's population will shrink. "China's population will begin to decrease in 2022, nine years sooner than the [previously] projected 2031," according to another demographer.
Why is China's population falling faster than expected?
China's population reduction will begin around a decade ahead of schedule. This has to do with the country's economic predicament.
China's economic troubles continued throughout 2020 and 2021. China's national income growth has been stagnant for a long time, and the country is stuck in what analysts refer to as the "Middle-Income trap."
However, the year 2021 was markedly different, as the Chinese people faced economic troubles as a result of the real estate crisis, a drop in industrial activity, and a power outage. They don't want to add to the world's population since they can't support themselves.
In China, the number of marriages held in the first nine months of last year was 5.8 million, down 17.5 percent from the same period in 2019. Couples in China do not see a bright future and are unable to marry and start kids at this time.
Why is the CCP tense?
The CCP has taken a significant hit from China's faster-than-expected population growth issue. The CCP was dominant because it benefited from a demographic dividend, whereas the West relied on cheap Chinese labor.
However, the rest of the world is witnessing China's rapid decline as a manufacturing superpower. Multinational corporations will begin to relocate to better regions as China's population declines. And, before the CCP realizes it, the West will begin a ruthless and unrelenting crackdown on Beijing's misdeeds.
