In 2023, China's population shrank for the second year in a row, despite the Communist Party's persistent efforts to pressure women to have more children, writes the New York Times.
The government has offered carrots such as cheaper housing, tax breaks and payments. They have also tried to allude to patriotism and urge women to be "good wives and mothers" - but this has not had the desired effect.
Last year, 9.02 million children were born in China, compared to 9.56 million in 2022. It is the seventh year in a row that the birth rate has shrunk.
According to several experts, gender inequality is a driving factor in the fact that fewer and fewer Chinese women choose to have children.
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Millions of abandoned homes in Japan as population declines
The population decline in Japan has led to millions of houses being deserted - and there will be more, Ekot reports.
- My estimate is that over seven million houses will be empty in 2040, about twice as many as today, says Chie Nozawa, professor at Meiji University in Tokyo.
The development drives a negative spiral of depopulation – the abandoned houses make it more difficult to attract residents to residential areas, which in turn leads to a deterioration in community services, she continues.
Japan's population is expected to decline by a third over the next 50 years.
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