China's population likely declined last year as births hit new low

China’s population likely started shrinking last year for the first time in decades, experts say, a significant milestone that will have long-term repercussions for the economy. 
 

The government’s official data for total number of births in 2022 — expected to be released next week — will probably show a record low of 10 million, according to independent demographer He Yafu. 

That would be less than the 10.6 million babies born in 2021, which was already the sixth straight year of declines and the lowest since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. He added that the country likely