China’s population shrank for the fourth year in a row in 2025. Official data show a decline of 3.39 million people, bringing the total to 1.405 billion. Births fell sharply by 17% to 7.92 million, while deaths increased to 11.31 million. The birthrate dropped to 5.63 per 1,000 people, a historical low for the country. Yi Fuxian, a demographer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said births in 2025 were "roughly the same level as in 1738, when China’s population was only about 150 million." The death rate hit 8.04 per 1,000, the highest since 1968. Population decline and rapid aging pose problems for China’s economy. Older people over 60 now make up 23% of the population. By 2035, this group may reach 400 million, similar to the combined populations of the US and Italy, adding pressure on pensions and workforce size. China recently raised retirement ages to ease the burden. Men now retire at 63 instead of 60, and women at 58 instead of 55. Marriage rates dropped sharply by 20% in 2024, a key factor linked to low birthrates. However, after changing rules in May 2025 allowing couples to marry anywhere in China, marriages jumped 22.5% in the third quarter, possibly slowing the decline. The government promotes positive views on marriage and childbearing to counter long-term effects of the one-child policy, which ran from 1980 to 2015. Urbanization adds to challenges as 68% of the population live in cities where raising children is costlier. From 2005 to 2025, urbanization rose from 43%. Beijing is investing heavily to raise birthrates, spending about 180 billion yuan ($25.8 billion) in 2025. It now offers national child subsidies and promises full medical cost coverage during pregnancy, including IVF treatments starting 2026. China’s fertility rate is just about one birth per woman, far below the replacement rate of 2.1. Other East Asian countries also face similar declines. The pool of women aged 15 to 49 is expected to fall by over two-thirds by 2100, deepening the demographic crisis.