[The Epoch Times, March 15, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Xiao Lusheng) Recently, the 2022 population data of 15 provinces in China has been released, and only 2 provinces have a population increase of more than 500,000 people. Among them, the natural population growth rate in Henan experienced negative growth for the first time, and the birth population in Shandong and Hebei fell below the 700,000 and 500,000 mark for the first time in recent decades.
On March 14, “China Business News” reported that the 2022 population data of 15 provinces in China have recently been released.
Among them, the natural population growth rate of 8 provinces is negative. Among the provinces with negative natural growth rate, Henan has experienced negative growth for the first time in 62 years (since 1961). The natural population growth rates of Shandong, Anhui and Gansu also turned negative for the first time in many years. The remaining four provinces are Hebei, Jiangsu, Hunan, and Chongqing.
According to the report, the birth rate in all provinces has declined, and the death rate has generally increased.
Last year, only Henan and Shandong were left with more than 500,000 births. The population born in Henan in 2022 will be 733,000. Shandong’s birth population last year was 682,200, falling below the 700,000 mark for the first time in recent decades.
In other provinces, the population born in Hebei last year was 453,000, which was the first time in recent decades that it fell below the 500,000 mark. The birth populations of Jiangsu, Anhui, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and Zhejiang are between 400,000 and 500,000.
The birth population in Fujian Province decreased by 49,000 from the previous year to 296,000, which was the first time in many years that it fell below the 300,000 mark. Compared with 2017, the birth population in Fujian has dropped by 51.2% in the past five years.
Earlier, the “China Statistical Yearbook 2022” data released by the CCP stated that there are now 13 provinces in China with negative natural population growth rates, namely: Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan.
Overseas political analyst Lu Tianming said in an interview with The Epoch Times reporter in January this year that the CCP never releases real figures, but one can see a trend and direction from the fake figures it publishes.
Wang He, an expert on China issues and a political analyst based in the United States, wrote in The Epoch Times in January this year that the CCP began to enforce the “one-child policy” in 1978, and China’s population structure has been distorted since then. In 1992, China entered into a low fertility society; in the 2000 census, the total fertility rate was only 1.22, and China fell into the “low fertility trap”. The CCP has long rejected the suggestions of population experts and missed opportunities for population growth. When Xi Jinping came to power, the CCP adjusted its policy. However, due to the plot of “protecting the party”, the authorities have not completely abandoned “family planning” so far, and China’s population crisis is irreversible.
However, Premier Li Qiang of the Communist Party of China announced at the first premier’s press conference on March 13 that China’s demographic dividend has not disappeared. The demographic dividend depends not only on the total amount, but also on quality, not only on population, but also on talents, and the development momentum is still strong. etc.
Xie Jinhe, chairman of Taiwan’s Caixin Media, told The Epoch Times on the 13th that the current momentum is not strong at all. In addition to the sharp decrease in population, China’s elderly population is already around 300 million. Sun Guoxiang, a full-time associate professor at the Department of International Affairs and Entrepreneurship at Nanhua University, said that Li Qiang used a kind of whitewashing, and he would turn around and go around any situation that was unfavorable to the CCP. Because in fact, the situation of declining birth rate and aging situation in mainland China is obviously deteriorating rapidly.
Responsible editor: Li Muen#