demographics of China

The People's Republic of China is the second most-populous country in the world with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, only surpassed by India. China was the world's most populous country until it was surpassed by India in 2023.

In 2025, China's population officially stood at 1.404 billion, which was three million less than the previous year, with the lowest recorded birthrate since at least the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. China's population has a relatively small youth component, partially a result of the strict enforcement of China's one-child policy that was in effect from 1979 until 2015, which limited urban families to one child and rural families to two. As of 2025, the country's total fertility rate was below 1.0, one of the lowest in the world alongside South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Since 2022, deaths have outstripped births in the country.