(Yicai) Jan. 17 -- China’s population shrank for a second straight year in 2023, with the birth rate dropping to a record low.

The population fell by 2.08 million last year, figures releases by the National Bureau of Statistics showed today. It declined by 850,000 in 2022.

Some 9.02 million babies were born, while 11.1 million people died, resulting in a natural population growth rate of minus 1.48 per 1,000. The birth rate was 6.39 per 1,000, while the mortality rate was 7.87 per 1,000.

China's population has peaked and will keep shrinking for a long time, according to a recent report by the cabinet’s development research center. The report suggested that while promoting full employment and accelerating the urbanization of the rural population, efforts should also be made to meet and as much as possible realize reasonable fertility intentions.

China’s population and labor force will remain large for some time, and further unleashing the potential of the population is the most direct and effective strategy to alleviate the negative impact of population decline and prolong the demographic dividend, the report said.

That involves achieving full employment, increasing the job participation rate of the working-age population as much as possible, and accelerating the urbanization of the agricultural population, it said.

Drawing from the experiences of other countries, China needs to focus on service support policies and financial help to boost the birth rate, the report added. Examples include setting up childcare facilities, exploring housing policies that favor families with multiple children, and researching progressive fiscal subsidies for families with many kids.

Editor: Martin Kadiev