Why are fewer Chinese women having children? | DW News

China’s birth rate hit a record low in 2023, contributing to the country's overall demographic problem. But why? Leta Hong Fincher is author of Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China. She says Chinese women are increasingly willing to push back against traditional expectations of child-rearing, thanks in no small part to their unequal treatment in marriage and career.
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#business #china #population

[@notaspy1227]

It amazes me how the older generation is so surprised that the younger generations aren’t having children.

[@mirror452]

Noone is surprised. China has massively expanded higher education in the last few years, which is why we are now seeing a temporary slump in the birth rate (people don't have children during their studies).

[@dubsar]

​​@@mirror452 No. People are having fewer children because they feel overworked, impoverished, stressed, poisoned, trapped, hopeless. And having a better education makes them better positioned to decide what to do about their own future, often a childless one.

[@MohNaz-ly6yx]

Cost of living main culprit for decline in family values ​@@mirror452

[@MacDaddy8200]

@@mirror452 Still today more than 70% of Chinese live for less than 280 USD per month. Doesnt leave much for children with soaring prices and inflation.

[@raxtoma5309]

​@@mirror452i think it's also when you're educated you're planning better and wanting better wealthier life. And want the same for your children. Which is expensive and labour intensive. In the same time when you're young and it's biologicly best time to have children you just started your career. Your salary is low and no apartments. So you have to wait

[@shawnwang1125]

Born in the late 1980s, as a living “legacy” of the One-Child Policy, I myself, along with millions of Chinese women of my generation, were actually quite grateful, sometimes subconsciously, for what is being described as an inhuman and draconian practice today. For the first time in Chinese history, women (mostly urban women as families in the rural areas were often allowed to have two children) as the only child of their families were given the undivided love, attention, and more importantly, financial support, from their parents, and even from their grandparents in some occasions. The majority of us perhaps couldn’t have afforded to pursue higher education or choose a career based on our interests if we had siblings. Today the so-called “left-over” women, including myself, understand perfectly well that we don’t have to force ourselves into marriage to be financially secure as we get to inherit whatever our parents have and no male heir will ever sideline us. And believe me, forced abortion is not a topic that a Chinese mother would easily discuss with her daughter or son so many of us had absolutely no idea about the cruelty of the policy. And I have to say not all mothers and fathers in China were coerced into dropping the idea of having more children when the policy was in place from early 1980s to early 2010s. In fact it gave young couples at the time a perfect excuse for reducing the size of their families against Chinese traditions so that they could spend less on child rearing and focus more on their personal development in the workplace, and that also contributed to the surge of Chinese economy. The One-Child Policy backfired on the country when Chinese people got used to the advantages of having a small-sized family in which they could spend all resources on only one child so that the son/daughter could enjoy the best out of the best and if possible, the maximum opportunity to succeed/survive in an increasingly competitive society. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a man/woman in his/her 30s or 40s is not keen on having multiple children if he/she needs to care for two parents by themselves.

[@mark9294]

Thanks for this great comment, very insightful.

[@pastelclouds1922]

Thank you for your comment! Your perspective is very interesting, I never considered things from this angle, about not having to compete for resources with the male heir.

[@aaron.aaron.v.b.9448]

There is good evidence that a way milder policy would have yielded essentially the same effects, for example by comparison with other countries in similar demographic circumstances.

[@yvonnefarrell1029]

Amen and thank you for posting this!

[@ivyruan6942]

I cannot agree with you more! Thank you for sharing this under this video. As a Chinese single female child myself in my household, I got to enjoy the best from my parents and I cannot appreciate them more. I remember, one time, I asked my dad whether he and my mom would supported me to study abroad if I had a sibling. My dad hesitated a bit and told me jokingly “maybe not.” At present, I am so determined to pay them back through actions in the future even though they don’t need me to do so…

[@armartin0003]

Stress. Duh. Who would want to have kids when money is tight, plague is infesting, jobs are unavailable, and war is being threatened every day? Nobody, that's who.

[@brawhite6157]

Someone who has lived in China for a long time will tell you that many Chinese women believe that marriage and childbirth are a form of exploitation.

[@brawhite6157]

Some Chinese men also believe that marriage is exploitative

[@danieldpa8484]

So a couple of young people have to take care of children, work, study and as well watch after their parents and even grandparents. So it’s 2 kids, 4 parents, 8 grandparents, and the 2 grown ups = 16 people being taken care of by 2 people, next to their job… how is that supposed to work?!?

[@danielch6662]

And it's not 2 working adults. The one-child policy started in 1980. Why do you think it somehow has a retroactive effect and somehow the grandparents also have only one child. PS: Women in China today have their first child at an average age of just above 30. It used to be 20. Men are slightly older.

[@vivektripathi6053]

So nobody is dying in china 😮 everyone is alive for taking care of.

[@J_X999]

The cost of housing alone is enough to put young people off having children.

[@jewdavid5627]

Is it?

[@Kurtmind]

​@@jewdavid5627 Yes, it is. How can you start a family when you don't have a place or home to put that family in?

[@jewdavid5627]

@@Kurtmind I think the way people treat one another is enough to put young people off having children.

[@valetudo1569]

Women have more choice yet men still want to hold onto the traditional way of women doing everything - cooking, cleaning, taking care of children... and now + working. The world changed fast but the expectations of men are slow to change...especially in a traditional and patriarchal society like China. This leads to more women saying "no thanks".

[@valetudo1569]

@@Fortifier1021 I'd guess its much more on the otherside....especially with 30 million more men than women.

[@valetudo1569]

@@Fortifier1021 Those are two separate things. thats why I put the "+".

[@Nithinithinith]

@@Fortifier1021 women used to work in the farms even when pregnant. What are you talking about ?

[@valetudo1569]

@@Fortifier1021 Well I mean it's pretty well documented. Next you might ask me where I heard the earth was round. I also live in China and people here are very aware of it. Its no secret

[@justjackie4394]

​@@Fortifier1021Yes, it is. What do you think farmers wives before industrialization did? What did you think women did during the world wars? Women not working was an experience specifically for the upperclass. The average everyday woman did work.🙄

[@polycarp9897]

It always amazes me how governments want to encourage women to have children but offer no incentives in terms of child care, healthcare and education. The message is clear: "You have children and deal with the hardships because we think it is good for society". There's one quick way of encouraging people to have children. Offer $2000 per month in child care for each child (with an extra $300 for each extra year from the age of 5 upwards), government paid medical insurance until the child is 18 and government paid education (in institutions of the parents choosing) until university. If governments think that children are essential, they should cover the cost of raising them. Expecting parents to bear the burden of childcare and still have enough children to sustain the population is absurd.

[@TingBie]

You're spot-on. The societal benefits are totally at odds with individuals' self-interest. As a result, the Chinese population will keep plummeting.

[@CHENKELLY4]

Actually what amazed me is the fact that the IVF is still not yet reimbursed in China…my cousin who is trying to have a baby at the age of 40 has to take all the IVF cost (~4k euro per cycle) out of pocket. She told me there are full of patients like her in the hospital….after a first failure, she’s struggled with the high cost and the low success rate.

[@wamnicho]

Ok, then don’t have children if you don’t want to but when you get old and infirm, don’t expect help from other people’s kids

[@wam7484]

You're kind of tone deaf here. A common theme on why fewer children is costs are too high. Inflation pressure. And now your response is Let's spend a lot more government money to make things better. Where do you think inflation comes from?

[@DSan-kl2yc]

People have always done it. It's equally absurd to think governments should have seen this coming.

[@keirenle]

You can not talk about population decline without talking about the causes. Sure, women in any advanced economies have more choices, but the primary causes are the economic ones. These problems extend beyond China clearly. Young people increasingly have to study longer, working more just to afford a roof over their head. Job insecurity is another barrier. When you are instilled anxieties, stress to a young couple, having a child is not their top priority naturally.

[@DC-qn4wz]

well said.

[@aleh3627]

She is trying really hard to attribute this to gender inequality. But china is more gender equal than Japan that has higher fertility, and this words of Xi asking women to return to a more traditional role were done as a response to the fertility crisis, not before it. I live in China, and as person attempting to have kids myself I can tell you buying a big enough apartment is a huge struggle and so is education (not because of monetary cost, but because you need to use a lot of time tutoring your kid, as the schools are too competitive)

[@oum6544]

@@aleh3627 Women would be less hesitant to start families if that meant they get to receive a decent amount of help in child rearing from their husbands, as well as not have their careers compromised by the simple decision of doing what one would naturally do. Additionally, the decrease in the female population in China due to the unintended consequences of the one-child policy, coupled with the reality that many Chinese young women are the primary caregivers for their elderly parents, poses challenges for those desiring to start families but are unable to do so. So yes, gender inequality is a strong factor here.

[@aleh3627]

@@oum6544 maybe there is some influence here, but not in the way the woman claims. She has also made several factual mistakes. Like claiming the cost of raising children has not increase in the last 10 years, or saying that couples (instead of male bachelors) are required to buy houses, or claiming that employers ask women about their family situation to encourage them to have children (they are trying to avoid hiring women that are about to get pregnant because it's expensive), or by claiming Chinese society is more sexist than before (has this woman even lived in china 10 years ago?). Anyway sexism could have some influence but evidently this person is speaking without knowledge in a way that anybody that has lived in china can tell very easily.

[@oum6544]

@@aleh3627 according to the Chinese women I spoke to, yes the discrimination against working mothers is definitely a factor too. Just like in Korea

[@thilmetro2786]

The cost of living has risen significantly, making it difficult for people to afford raising their children.

[@henryairconcepts2999]

Not just cost of living but the current generation has the obligation to look after their parents as well.

[@torablack]

lkr ====

[@muhammadyuda4643]

nah the cost of living is cheap, in asia the cost of maried is the real problem.

[@gund89123]

Wages should be going up too ?

[@brawhite6157]

Some Chinese men also believe that marriage is exploitative

[@johnnydoe3603]

The Moment People realise that they can have better Quality of Life if they don’t have a Kid & Save Tons of Money. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@xrfa7422]

Who will take care of you in old age? Do you think the government actually cares about you?

[@manuelalcocer8959]

​@@xrfa7422that's not even a guarantee. You can't force your own children to take care of you, especially when they are adults and want to live their own life. I've met several elders that had like 4-8 sons/daughters and all of them ended in the hospital/ER senile and deteriorated because none of their offspring wanted to take care of them (I worked at the hospital).

[@FS-me8mj]

That's sad for the fact that you won't have anyone to call family. The more you grow older the more your life becomes meaningless if you don't have anyone with you and that is why we have elder care centres and of course higher suicide rates.

[@myprettygirl91]

@@FS-me8mjnot true at all. You build the life you want, with or without kids

[@FS-me8mj]

@@myprettygirl91 and who would be there with you when you cross 60? Or are you still gonna lead a happy life? Loneliness crisis is no joke, it's on the rise both in Europe and East Asia with more and more people committing suicide. Some countries are even making it legal to commit suicide. Leading a happy life is one thing, sustaining a happy life is another thing.

[@torablack]

Yeah, they kinda shot themselves in the foot with the 1 child policy.

[@BuildNumber42]

the problem isn't too few young people - China has an enormous population of young people compared to the US. The problem in China is an overabundance of old people. Covid was probably developed to address this issue but the process had to be interrupted due to international pushback.

[@torablack]

@@BuildNumber42 and the one child policy exacerbated the issue. Yes, China has a bigger population than the US but because of the one child policy there aren't enough young people contributing to the work force to support their large elderly population.

[@brawhite6157]

Elderly people in China are encouraged to fall in love (after completing studies), get married and have children, but no one says why, children cannot support them in old age.

[@brawhite6157]

Chinese parents do not want to fall in love or get married while studying, including during university or graduate school, as this will affect their grades.

[@brawhite6157]

But they all hope that their children can go to graduate school or even graduate with a doctorate. Moreover, there are tens of millions less young girls than boys. The population is shrinking and aging is inevitable.

[@jennpul1015]

The tittle here explains the problem. Women are tired of children be their responsibility while men opt out of parenthood at will. Society doesn't take care of mothers, too often women find themselves suffering alone to take care of children.

[@Nithinithinith]

@@Fortifier1021males aren’t providing financially. That’s why women are saying no.

[@AyakoTachi]

Working a 996 with an hour commute doesn't leave one many other choices in life.

[@milascave2]

The same reason that people In Japan, Western Europe, North America, and Brazil are having fewer children. When countries develop to a certain point, they have fewer kids. Pretty much because: they can. And it's a good thing, too.

[@viktorias63]

Nope not at all

[@BrianBBBB]

Shorter lines at Costco

[@adolft_official]

The simple reason is pushing women into workforce, most manufacturing plants deliberately hire only female workers

[@galvinstanley3235]

Add Russia too that.

[@captgaming2134]

As a Chinese young man I can say that one of the reasons is because Chinese women in a lot of households bear the primary responsibility of household chores and childcare, even if they work full time. This creates a work family conflict and here women have to juggle multiple demands and roles. Some women to choose to postpone marriage and childbearing to reduce the work family conflict. Chinese women may not receive adequate support from their employers, the government their partners. Some workplaces may not offer flexible work arrangements, childcare facilities or parental leave policies. And unfortunately some partners may not share the domestic and parenting duties or respect the woman’s career aspirations. These factors may make women feel overwhelmed or unsupported and may affect their decisions on marriage or childbearing. Chinese women also encounter gender discrimination in the labour market such as lower wages fewer opportunities and higher expectations than men some employers also prefer to hire men or unmarried women who take maternity leave or have children.

[@user-te9ky3gt6f]

凭良心讲，中国的女性地位在世界上应该也是很高的了吧？

[@captgaming2134]

@@user-te9ky3gt6f 当然，如果没有女性，中国社会和文化就毫无意义。 他们以各种形式为我们的社会做出贡献

[@orangerightgold7512]

can u also explain why they want the man to have 1 house at least 2 top line cars and a 1 million RMB earning just to consider dating him? and then wants 880,000RMB to consider marriage? also why do they regularly want brand name gifts and a 30,000rmb monthly allowence?

[@jcliu]

Thank you, this was very insightful. Curious: How do you think the legacy of the one-child policy plays into this? In some ways, the policy didn’t actually make China a huge outlier overall; it just accelerated the rapid transition to very low birthrates we see across East Asia and increasingly the West. That said, the fertility crash in Japan, Korea, or Germany reflected an average across preferences-lots more childless people, but those who want children could still have 2, and traditional areas 3-4+, kids every generation. China was totally unique in mandating a specific type of family for nearly everyone. I imagine a society where, across two generations, very few people had siblings raises the psychological burden of childrearing: You lack the experience of watching younger brothers, sisters, and cousins be raised-and the informal insurance of an aunt/uncle who can step in if something terrible happens to you. Do modern Chinese feel this absence of extended families adds to the burdens, or does it just seem natural? 🙏

[@plagiarisedwords]

​@@orangerightgold7512 the post above talks about gender inequality. You are raising the point of class / wealth inequality. They are hardly mutually exclusive. In fact, the unattractiveness of marrying an "ordinary" man causes women to either give up or to all go for a very wealthy man. When marrying such a person, you don't need to worry about juggling work / caring because you have enough money to not care. But clearly this only works for a few women and isn't a good thing for society

[@weltschmertzz]

Society tends to blame women. If men and society didn't put most of the chores and childcare responsibilities on the women, as well as not discriminate in the workplace, it would not be as much as a problem. And how about the "bachelors" living a wayward and womanizing lifestyle without taking responsibility?

[@bloodluster7086]

It's even worse than most people think. Most of the fertility calculations are wrong putting China between 1.4-1.6 births per women in their lifetime which is obviously impossible since the one child policy was only more recently lifted in 2016. The reality is probably half of the official estimates 0.7-0.8 per women and dropping even lower with the new generation. China's official population is also highly questionable.

[@aleh3627]

The one child policy did allow some women have more than one children. Actually the only people restricted fully to have one child was the urban han population, and at the time china was mostly rural. I am not saying that the fertility number is correct, I don't know, but it's also incorrect to assume the one child policy required everyone to have only one child.

[@bloodluster7086]

@@aleh3627 The calculations are way off, it's just particularly noticeable for China due to the one child policy. If you actually visit China you will quickly realize the vast majority of people under 40 are the only children maybe 10% have a sibling. If you ask anyone born after 1980 they'll probably tell you something similar, only a minority of their classmates and friends growing up actually did have a sibling. Don't forget there are also some people even pre-2000 who never got married, get married but don't want any kids, get married but are infertile, or LGBT, this will probably account for at least half of the population in the new generations.

[@aleh3627]

@@bloodluster7086 that's only speculation, I also feel that the calculation should be wrong, but until a third party demographer with access to all the information verifies it, we will not know for sure.

[@williams1777]

@@bloodluster7086 you do realise that many chose ilegal ways to have a second children, i have half of my family there as examples, they have 2 or more childs

[@bloodluster7086]

@@williams1777 Most people in China under 40 live in the cities you can ask them yourself if you're ever in China. From my experience only 10% born after 1980 have a sibling, but even if you are being generous and say it's 20% the calculations are still way off.

[@TabithaTabCat]

This is a good thing. There's way too many people in the world especially places like China (and India).

[@Never-ending_]

Not good for them lol

[@HKim0072]

They have 286% debt to GDP. What the heck happens when GDP starts going lower? It's extremely hard to grow GDP if your population is plummeting.

[@sagartomar3461]

Nah it's only 8 billion people earth can hold 12-13 billion people which we will never reach due to population decline

[@MukadisAymen-ui8fy]

That's not right

[@dion5804]

​@@sagartomar3461Nooooo please.

[@user-cl9ob9mc1h]

If I lived in an authoritarian country I wouldn’t want to bring a child into the world either…

[@victorye7150]

At least Chinese kids are smart, strong and competitive. They know what their genders are.

[@user-cl9ob9mc1h]

@@victorye7150 fair point on the gender lol. But i disagree on the rest. Why so much IP theft if you are all so smart??

[@stevens9625]

Far better to have kids and risk them getting shot in school eh?

[@wangyaohan8824]

@@user-cl9ob9mc1h any IP theft proven? on the other hand, china file & granted more patents than others since 2011 is proven. don't tell me that any accusations make someone automatically guilty, no court verdict needed.

[@hastingz9948]

If you live in an authoritarian country, you think you have a choice? fortunately China is not authoritarian country.

[@aleparedes8439]

Honestly, the fact that most young people of this generation are only children, the mere idea that a couple has to look after four elders and they can barely get by (let alone buy a home with the infamous real estate market collapse China is suffering right now) would be enough to discourage anyone to have one more mouth to feed, especially one that will also represent a huge investment for about two decades since school and college has gotten incredibly competitive in China

[@user-hw2ln7bm7v]

Why bring Children to this world when there are so much uncertainties? Places like India and Africa keep producing them but these poor chidren are starving!!!!!! Look at Singapore, they use to have one child policy and now trying to reverse, But many of them doesnt want many kids. Today is a burden to have too many children.

[@VanBurenOfficial]

Is this really a Chinese issue though? It seems like pretty much every developed and highly urbanized east Asian nation has very low birth rates.

[@kevinmanan1304]

Right? Look at Italy or Europe and you see it’s an issue there too

[@inbb510]

Yea because those countries got rich before the population declined. But for China, much of the population is still poor.

[@kevinmanan1304]

@@inbb510 I think Italians are much poorer than Chinese/Japanese. Even TWICE Bankrupted Greece is doing better than Italy right now

[@ranrise]

It's especially important issue for two reasons 1) China's recent economic rise is highly dependent on the 60-70s population boom. 2) the drop rate is sharp, it's driving off a cliff, as opposed to Europe that's more of a slow gradual leveling and slight drop. So there's going to be huge social unrest in addition to economic collapse.

[@mirror452]

@@ranrise The drop is temporary, it's due to an enormous expansion of higher education. A large section of the population will have children later, after their studies, and birth rate will normalize at a higher level than it is now in a couple years.

[@janpetersen7440]

With a current Chinese population of 1.4 billion people, it will probably be okay not to bet on 1.5 billion.

[@hillockfarm8404]

Official numbers, but how much Bejing gives the local governments depends on how many people they have ... Inflating numbers and creative bookkeeping are present here too. I hear estemates of 1.28 billion to 970 million to around 850 million chinese, depending on what meteric is used to guess.

[@liveinsea1]

@@hillockfarm8404 IF you think the local gov in china today try to inflate the population number but actually the real number is much smaller, you would also believe that 1.4 b is not the real number befpre because the same local gov would deflate the number when china has the one child policy. the real number could be 1.8b then. what a joke? by the same logic, china is hiding its GDP number to avoid the US' anger to challenge its number one position.

[@Tabula_Rasa1]

@@hillockfarm8404 Are you high or something? lol. This is the first time I hear someone claim China inflating population #.

[@dekev7503]

Out of 1.4 billion at least 1/2 of them are over the age of 40, thus if the birth rates remain the same ( or worse, falls) in 60 years, almost all those over 40 will be dead, and the population would’ve shrunk to less than 800million. What’s worse is that the oldest people/retirees then, who would be in their 60s- 90s ( everyone under 40 today) would be the most populous demographic, out numbering the working population 6-1. That is every worker would have to fund the pension as well as care for 6 elderly people.

[@dlongford]

@@Tabula_Rasa1Check articles from Yi Fuxian, whose estimation on china population was 1.28 billion by 2020. His estimated demographics was lately consistent with that of the massive database leaked from Shanghai police in 2022 that includes details of more than one billion Chinese residents, making his conclusions credible

[@TheBHAitken]

It's the same reason our population has fell below two children per person as well, only intensified: far too expensive. The limited population growth and moved everyone into cities where personal space is at a premium, and then you want them to raise a child that cannot contribute to the household (unlike on farms) but cost massive amounts of money draining their resources, and then they want their people to do it again. If North Americans cannot afford to raise families, what chance do they have in China?

[@freneticness6927]

And yet people in somalia can afford to have kids

[@kwektans]

I wonder why China demographic problems are announced daily. Why don’t you focus on demographic problems in Italy, Eastern Europe, Japan, Korea.. Why the daily China, China….

[@balsarmy]

Why not? And tgey post about Rurope as well. You see what you want to see

[@kwektans]

@@balsarmy Do they? I don’t think they have ever done a doc on the demographic problems of Eastern European countries. I didn’t even know Eastern Europe had demographic problems… did you?

[@Tabula_Rasa1]

I remember seeing Western European low child birth issue news a lot a long time ago. Now Europe have a different demographic issue which are illegal immigration from Middle East Ukraine & Africa.

[@kwektans]

@@Tabula_Rasa1 Have you seen any docs on Eastern Europe or South Korea? Bcos they also have demographic problems..

[@Tabula_Rasa1]

@@kwektans I can't say about Eastern European but SK is on the news quite frequently.

[@joannpeterson3941]

I wouldn't have a baby there either

[@d.b.2215]

​@thezoldics7648She wouldn't care. You don't even know if she wants kids or not

[@AmonTheWitch]

​@thezoldics7648no sane person would put a baby in a world where leaders blatantly disregard threats to our entire species over petty grievances and greed

[@Nithinithinith]

@thezoldics7648 yes, I refuse to be abused under the guise of motherhood like the women before me .

[@Momowowo8]

As job markets deteriorates in China, the job prospects of getting a job for a female worker in her late 20s got substantially worse, much worse than their male counterparts. Employers worry that the worker might have kids and take maternity leave (which may not be the case), and lean towards male hire, when they have a lot of bargaining power in a bad job market. A lot job posting would bluntly say they only hire male workers, a move that could get them in legal trouble if they were hiring in the U.S...

[@dlongford]

Recruiters will explicitly ask questions like age, whether being in a relationship, marriage, fertility status and desire to female applicants in China

[@timpaull9340]

@@YWYW476lol no one in China is working overseas for 200-400 dollars a month that’s literally low end cleaning lady wage in China

[@fs5775]

which is why the ones who have the means are going abroad to western countries, they are smart

[@kreb7]

This has a simple solution to make maternal leave to include paternal as well. Thus, either gander can take time off. Thus, balance nit completely but significantly

[@edvoon]

@@fs5775 Especially when they're over 28, since that is still considered very young outside of China. There's also less of a glass ceiling and they are more likely to get equal pay as their male colleagues.

[@tsangarisjohn]

I don’t see a problem 😂

[@viktorias63]

You didn't pay attention then

[@julyseven808]

Chinese (men and women) know that parenting is very difficult and costly. People in Japan, S Korea and many western countries dont take much kids anymore unless they have lots of money.

[@FernandoPerez3h.]

I suspect the situation is influenced by China's one-child policy, which aimed at population control but has inadvertently shaped a cultural preference for having just one child or none. This has created two generations without siblings or nieces/nephews, posing a challenge in altering this mindset among newer generations.

[@FernandoPerez3h.]

.

[@benitzers8858]

true

[@torablack]

lkr =====

[@BizzeeB]

Yeah, two only children aren't all that interested in having a lot of children...

[@beelan101]

But the same thing is happening all over the world... Not just in China. Ide suspect it has more to do with industrialization, and a generation that was raised with expectations of a certain lifestyle, that can only be sustained if you dont have children.

[@ftu2021]

I want to appreciate DW for being so sympathetic towards China’s low birth rate but neglect that this happening around the world. Japan and South Korea are at a worse state.

[@infinitrixtv5847]

The Chinese demographic crisis is a lot worse since a lot of their young people are now going single for their lifetime. Japan and South Korea can still have some options. But China is out of options, they can go with coercion and forcing people, but those kinds of desperation tactics will end up killing their own people in the process.

[@ftu2021]

@@infinitrixtv5847 ? What are you talking about? China has a higher fertility rate than both Japan and Korea. Unless you are referring to the unbalanced sex ratio but that’s not something new.

[@infinitrixtv5847]

@@ftu2021 Well, that are claims. Chinese Communists (CCP) are manipulating their data to make it appear that they are ahead of Japan and South Korea, but the truth is that China may be well below 1.9 per women now. The CCP is making it low but it is not the actual reality in China now. There were millions of men in China now more than women, so the whole demographic crisis is more on China than both Japan and South Korea who can have options and correct incentives to maintain their own population.

[@DC-qn4wz]

@@infinitrixtv5847 Wrong!

[@infinitrixtv5847]

@@DC-qn4wz Right! And you are blind.

[@ChopSuey-Dish]

I live in China. Everything is miserable here, but no one dares to complain. Seriously if there is next life, I wish to be born in any other country, except China.

[@balsarmy]

Difficulties make us wiser.

[@roundpenguin3072]

The neighbor's field always seems greener. You have the advantage of not living in North Korea. You can go out into the world and try to find a place that suits you better.

[@wendyjones363]

Any other country? I swear you would never want to be born in North Korea!

[@Rainy-daze473]

Apply for immigration. You can try for a better life if you are miserable.

[@binbi8177]

Robots to smear China go online

[@sayajane890]

As a woman still has to live in China,I have to say,I could not stand my child birth on this tragic world.

[@fs5775]

You can get out of China, you even speak English. Not everywhere is hopeless. Most developed countries are way better than China, the locals complain all the time about minor things there but life in Europe, N. America etc is way better than China, not hopeless. Don't lie flat!

[@ramsa01Yt]

Entitlement

[@DoNotImpose]

thankyou for being a real person with a working mind

[@Nithinithinith]

@@ramsa01Ytthe world is entitled to her child . She said no. Courageous woman.

[@themisheika]

@@ramsa01Yt ikr. how dare govts pressure women to have children while enacting very little or no policies to help in childcare, cost of living, housing or ANYTHING to make it desirable or economically possible for children to be a welcome prospect. Entitled govts deserve to have women finally stand up to their tyranny and misogyny. As OP said rightfully, tragic world.

[@aleh3627]

Another aspect in which she is wrong, is that when Chinese employers ask women about their marital and kids situation is not to force them to have children, they are just looking to avoid hiring women that will be pregnant soon. This is of course ilegal and bad, but its for completely different reasons. This womas has no idea what she is talking about.

[@Thyalwaysseek]

Awesome news, why would you want to bring an innocent soul into such a toxic, violent, corrupted hellhole of a world.

[@jaanireel]

02:38 Marriage and birth rates in China have been consistently falling for the past decade. 05:16 Chinese women are choosing not to have children due to gender inequality and changing priorities. 07:54 Chinese women face societal pressure to marry and have children. 10:32 Chinese women are pushing back against societal and government pressure to marry and have children. 13:10 High cost of living and societal expectations are inhibiting factors for Chinese women to have children. 15:48 Incentives and government policies in China are not effectively addressing declining birth rates and gender inequality. 18:26 The legacy of the one-child policy burdens the current generation in child-rearing age. 21:03 China's reduced birth rates pose a grim future for women's rights.

[@TheGreatVivek7]

Why did she relate everything to ‘deteriorating women’s rights’?

[@dion5804]

​@@TheGreatVivek7More children, less freedom and personal life for women, basically. Women pay the highest price for the whole society and they don't even have a financial compensation or payment. New generations don't want the slavery life of their grandmas which is quite understandable.

[@TheGreatVivek7]

@@dion5804 BS. It’s hard for both

[@dion5804]

@@TheGreatVivek7 Nope and you know it. Don't play dumb. I wasn't born yesterday.

[@TheGreatVivek7]

@@dion5804 you were it seems

[@yongchen8204]

even with its current 1.4 billions people, 25% of its young people are jobless. more young chinese population dont help. china does not have population decline related issue. the biggest problem for china is the opposite, having 1.4 billions people makes china poorer!

[@missstorrm]

I've been living in China for almost a decade. In my time here they've changed the policy to 2 children, then 3... The problem is that for 3 decades families were investing all their means in 1 child only. So all child-related things/services were expensive (after school classes, toys, etc). Now people can have 2 or 3 kids but the costs of services aren't any lower. They simply can't afford that. Plus the apartments. Many families have apartments with 2 bedrooms. They don't want to squeeze more people in there...

[@annaclarke7643]

The world’s ecosystem would breathe a sigh of relief if populations drop. We just have to be creative and imaginative on how the elderly care gap is approached. Having increasing populations will be our undoing. Climate change is a big wake-up call.

[@disky01]

If this is the case then China needs to concern itself woth keeping its younger citizens alive. In other words, no war.

[@aleh3627]

I have lived in china for over 10 years and this woman clearly has incorrect information or is interpreting things from a very ideological point of view. The main reasons for people having fewer children are: 1. Tradition of single child derived from one child policy 2. Very high costs of property relative to income 3. Time and energy cost of education. Feminism has some influence in China, but it's not half as important as it's on the west and most women still want to marry, the issue is that most people use too much time in education and work and have a hard time becoming financially stable or having enough free time to meet partners.

[@shawnwang1125]

Yes and I have to say feminists don’t necessarily refuse to get married or have children. We advocate gender equality, not celibacy😂

[@humanspiritlifecoaching196]

She literally said everything you just said. You are both saying the same thing.

[@aleh3627]

@@humanspiritlifecoaching196 she is saying that high cost of living is nothing new and the main change from before is that the party has become more sexist. But it's not true， living expenses are much higher than ten years ago, and the position of women is better than ten years ago.

[@globalismoblackman]

What is are they expecting ?. the cost of living is higher across the western world and in high income Asian countries. Also raising children's is hectic and very demanding responsibility.

[@Hoa-Luu-Ly]

Good. The work of women and their role in society and in family are undervalued anyway by society. Governement in many countries don't even lending help and provide incentives to mom & children and supporting family. Pls let women breathe & let them have break from bearing children. You won't have gender/ income equality if you are confined to domestic work and stay home mom.

[@4651adri]

More like LEFTOVER MEN.

[@jackreaper2890]

I ironic thing about China's one child policy is that the birth rate was already falling fairly significantly for the 7-8 years before it was introduced. It was an unnecessary policy in the end and it's introduction has done the country more harm than good.

[@Juniperus_Godegara]

This is definitely NOT a problem. Overpopulation is.

[@etaokha4164]

Children are expensive and also fathers are running away from their responsibility to be in the childs life. Alot of Children end up being raised by single mothers or dads and your left to pick up the pieces alone with no help whatsoever. Alot of married women in marriage are ending up like single mothers even though theyre married.

[@XD-cr3du]

The author on the show tries to paint the main reason for Chinese people's reluctance to have children to feminism, and opression of women etc. I actualy know alot of Chinese people and the number one reason they all mention when you ask them about this is : who's going to pay for that? You even see it in the video, what do the interviewed Chinese say? Their responses are mainly about costs, not patriarchy or something like that. I know she has a book to sell, but it looks like she suffers a bit from tunnel vision because of it.

[@mirror452]

This is of course the sole reason why DW invites her as a guest.

[@MauroRincon]

Sort of agree, but I think that if discrimination towards hiring and paying fair wages to women is true, this definitely helps the economic hurdles.

[@mirror452]

@@MauroRincon It's an issue, but the main reason for the drop in birth rates is the absolutely immense expansion of higher education in recent years. All the people who would normally have children now are engaged in their studies. So I would expect birth rate to normalize again in a couple years.

[@raymondcyq]

Please check birth rates for all East Asian countries or regions,also Singapore’s, you will know the true reason

[@XD-cr3du]

@@raymondcyq The reason for low birth rates are the birth rates?

[@lucasjames7524]

Why? Maybe because having kids takes over the rest of your life and drains every last penny and ounce of energy from you? Just guessing.

[@mark9294]

Hmm yeah, you might be on to something here. It's truly mystifying!

[@darinherrick9224]

Also known as hedonism replacing familial affection

[@Nithinithinith]

@@darinherrick9224 what do you mean by hedonism ?

[@a.jlondon9039]

The World is overpopulated.

[@SteveXNYC]

I have No kids at 63yrs old. I love it.

[@nicksonpinto2074]

Are your legs still holding good?

[@Mikinaak2023]

Not a bad life eh?

[@cherrybb3888]

The problem you will have is when you get old who will watch out for you? Not that we expect children to take care of us but we will still need an advocate if we get sick or need care in old age. Also to have someone to look after our finances potentially. I know as I had to be my mother’s advocate as she aged and had health problems. Even though she was in assisted living (I helped her move) there was much to do. Hiring help only goes so far. Hired help really won’t care about you I guarantee. As we get old we will need a point person to be our advocate. Friends will not want to do this as they will have their own lives or get old too. I understand your life is good now, but no one thinks about the challenges of growing old alone. If you have a partner then that’s great. Just hope the partner outlives you.

[@plantbased9502]

@@cherrybb3888 Birthing children, then investing in them emotionally, physically, and financially for decades and also sacrificing your happiness, comfort, goals, and youth for decades ... just to have someone be an advocate for you when you're 80. Why are we trying to convince people who don't want kids that they should have kids??? How can you care about children when you're promoting people who don't want them to have them like it's a jacket you can just try on instead of a human being that requires a lot of energy and sacrifice?

[@viktorias63]

​@@plantbased9502 no kidding, that goes to any other relationship you form with someone really. Especially romantic one. Just like any other relationship, it's worth it in the end, the sacrifices.

[@inbb510]

CCP realises that they can destroy life but can't create them at their own convenience.

[@Scrooge1erAOA]

Birthrates are falling in Europe as well. The World is anyway overpopulated so its not a bad thing! AI and Robotics will solve the rest.

[@MollyW1984]

When the environment becomes harsh, animals will reduce or even stop reproducing. This is their nature, and the same for human beings. The most macro-level reason is China’s economy. Those dark sides previously obscured by the economic boom are gradually being exposed now, such as inequality in income distribution, inequality between men and women, exorbitant housing prices, and the lingering effects of the one-child policy, etc. The most serious problem is class solidification, which is a dilemma faced by most people (even not a male-female issue). If the children of working class work hard all their lives, but still won't get more than the children of the rich when they are born, what could be the meaning of living like slaves then? I think South Korea is in the same predicament. Refusal to have children --this is the silent resistance of China's young generation to excessive work pressure and class solidification, which is much more than a gender topic. When some bosses go beyond labor laws to exploit employees, they say, "why does it have to be you? If you don't do this job, many other people will do." And the official knows everything, but keeps indifferent. Now every time the news promotes having more children, young people will fight back with "why does it have to be me? If I don't have children, many other people will do."

[@cz1023]

Same trend as the western countries

[@user-cn6zr4mh4h]

Low birth rates are not a problem for China. Automation will let us all enjoy better lives with increased productivity.

[@Muesto123]

Lol. Youre very wrong. Automation will make billionaires even more rich. So there wont be that many jobs.

[@IamHandsome4u]

​@@Muesto123 and who will make the automation possible?

[@abobanger9054]

​@@IamHandsome4u robots obviously

[@user-ij5dw3ob5o]

​@@Muesto123in 80s everyone was saying rise of computer will affect jobs but it not only increase jobs but also boost productivity

[@IamHandsome4u]

@@abobanger9054 iam replying to the 1st replier, that person said it will decrease the job, but totally ignored that the one who hv to create the automation requires humans, so indirectly it will also increase the jobs.

[@DD-sr9xm]

It’s urbanisation. We see it all over the world, when populations shift from rural areas to cities, birth rates collapse. In rural areas children are assets, they work in the fields, tend the live stock, they cook, they clean. In urban areas they are expenses, you need a bigger flat, they need daycare, they need education. China had the largest urbanisation wave in human history. In 2000 2/3s of Chinese lived in rural areas, but by 2015 2/3s lived in urban areas. That’s 400 mio shifting from rural to urban areas AND it was mostly younger people who produce children. Other factors influence the declining birth rate but urbanisation is the main driving force.

[@1802wardog]

Women will never choose children over a career until having children is part of why they become financially secure. Long ago that was through marriage as a wife and their desire to have a children with their husband to secure the marriage, since she got her income from her husband. Now that system is no longer an option, women will never, at scale choose children in large enough numbers to replace or even grow the population in any nation

[@devikamenon8605]

Having children used to be so full feeling and fun for people. Society has changed so much and the costs associated with children are too much in cities

[@cheetavontiebolt9971]

Better no children then being a neglectful or abusive parent

[@leomai9507]

They will need to take care of 600 to 700 million elderly in the future. Not even having immigration could offset the amount of workers they will need just to care for their elderly population. They probably have to rely on AI and robotics to save them, that's the only plausible way they could solve such a large demographic issue.

[@J_X999]

China seems to be doing very well with AI and robotics.

[@skwjisin]

the Chinese government does not give enough support to make people want to have children, it is so expensive in China for school and everything is so competitive for the parents, it is exhausting, so i can see why no one wants to have children

[@rudyalfonsus686]

lol. school is free in china dude. and if you achieve good result, you'll get scholarship for university

[@iany2448]

Declining birth rate is an inevitable trend when economic and education level improves. There are far more things to do in life than just having kids. In my family, one child practice started in the 1950-60s. Decades before government policy was introduced. I have many cousins but no sibling. I find this is just perfect.

[@themisheika]

It's perfect until your child has no (first) cousins AND no siblings.

[@start5518]

德国和美国人均GDP更高，生育率比中国高

[@vanessali1365]

More is not better, Chinese women know that too.

[@ycplum7062]

I do not disagree with the reasons given, but there are other issues. When a country industrializes, birth rates always decreases. In an agricultural society, children are free labor. In an industrial society, not only are children not free labor, the jobs are in cities and space is expensive. Basically, children go from a benefit to a cost. Also, a lot of the factory work involve females travelling to cities and housed in same sex dorms. You kind of have to have males and females in the same place to have babies. LOL Many educated females want their children to also be educated, that makes the money they save and the income they make higher before they feel comfortable to start having children. The economic downturn really doesn't help. Supposedly, they had a 20% unemployment rate among recent college graduates. And it isn't just for the educated. The housing crisis is not helping since many Chinese put their savings into these housing units, amny unfinished and unlikely to be finished.

[@oum6544]

Even African countries who became industrialised are going through the same process.

[@ycplum7062]

@@oum6544 Yep. The only difference is how far along they are and the rate of brth rate decline.

[@brawhite6157]

The one-child policy in the past has exacerbated population decline. There are tens of millions fewer young women than men.

[@containedhurricane]

Because life competition is hard in China. Some people don't want their future children to face the same financial problems and malnourishment

[@splatoon_octo]

Why is he telling his guest to keep her answers short?

[@kennethafstedt6231]

One of the most common reasons for highly educated women not having children has to do with old traditions. Most men are unvilling to enter a relationchip with a woman that stands above him, earning more money or that have a higher educational level. This seems to have past left out by he author, it seems. A bit to obvious leftwing approach for my taste...

[@ohthankg-dforthebourgeoisi9800]

Makes me wonder when forced pregnancy will happen…

[@magnvss]

The fact that this is bring upfront by the DW, that is, a German company, is quite ironic. You see any German public manifestation and the first thing you think is: "Where are all the young people? Why are they all mostly old?" (Germany birthrate is 1,53 p/w. that is, a negative one, while China's is 1,28, worse but still in the same disastrous boat: when you are below 2,1 p/w you are in serious problems).

[@JeffCaplan313]

We live amidst death cults. The West is a charnal ground for families.

[@mark9294]

Umm the young people would typically be at work or in school. And the birthrate is below 2.1 in almost every European country except the Faroes. In fact, the German birthrate almost exactly hits the European average of 1.5. Also, your comment has this weird implication that media outlets of a certain country are not allowed to report on issues happening in other countries? It's not like this channel doesn't report at length on issues affecting Germany, too.

[@magnvss]

@@mark9294 At work? The manifestation someone was surprised about was the one of a Workers' Union, so yeah, sure, they young, all of them must be... at school... Yes, the whole of Europe (and more, it's a global crisis, as that is called) has a similar problem. Yet because it is, you can't make it as if one of the falling bunch is astounded or worried by the other one, as if the other deviated particularly from the same problem they all entered. If you see and already sunken boat and yours is sinking too, it would sound laughable if you begin to lecture about the reasons when you can't even understand (or have the courage to say) what is the problem of your own flooding boat. The only "implication" is your head. They can report whatever they want as they always have done, with their selective motives and interests (what is, logically, the bane of journalism nowadays) yet others will notice and mention it, logically. Germany is always the feast of everyone's comments, for one reason or another.

[@ArabicReja973]

China 🇨🇳 lost 30 million people due to the Chinese Covid. That number contributed to the recent decline in the country's population.

[@SkoolieB]

A loss of 30 million from 1.4 billion is less than 2% population loss. A statistically insignificant numerical loss to a populations ability to re-populate. Even if it is a sad emotional loss of life.

[@askad7]

@@SkoolieB As an ethic Chinese, I strongly agree with you and I think even China lost 99% of it's population is still not significant and still have more population than other countries. Just saying.

[@lx3741]

新冠到现在我发现自己认识的人一个也没有消失。😢是不是让你们很失望

[@MukadisAymen-ui8fy]

Before the government said just one child and now they want more I'm afraid it's not going to happen unfortunately goodbye to most civilization including the western in 50 to 70 year's yes it is very expensive to have children so most women today they will prefer to have PHD's diploma degrees than to have children unfortunately

[@MukadisAymen-ui8fy]

There is nothing the Chinese and most countries facing this problem can do to fix this problem this is what happen if you want to play GOD

[@automaticshelter130]

Western countries that have much more gender equality are also experiencing population decline… so this guest has no idea what she’s talking about

[@youwenli52]

Yes, the birth rate hit a record low. But this interview has failed to discuss the multiplicity of the causes. DW can do better by interviewing a group of panelists who know China from inside and who understand China better.

[@Ray-mm1xg]

This is a global issue, not just in China.

[@BUILT2KEEL]

That not a problem theres billions of them, dont ask them to have more!! Wars, climate change, and the out of control living cost are all good reasons not too,

[@hitthedeck4115]

It's not the number of people but demographics, or simply put, we always need young and productive people to support society. In absence of that, the whole society could collapse and especially in case of China, it will bring the whole world with them since we are coupled to China in many things.

[@HumanBeanbag]

Hallelujah

[@ishmamahmed9306]

A less crowded China is a happier China. A smaller family is also a happier family, ceteris paribus.

[@chengavitch10]

The median age of China is 39 years and that's worrying DW. The median age of Germany is 44 years and DW doesn't seem to be worried.

[@redgoddess]

Lol . Women have been speaking for so long about being treated as less than human yet this question is being asked over and over 🤭 Treating women like slaves and second class citizens never goes well.

[@ahpong]

Happening in all post-industrialized countries, regardless of GDP per capita. Thailand is in exactly the same situation.

[@aleh3627]

A lot of the information this woman is saying is incorrect. The expectation is not that couples when married will purchase a home, the expectations is that the family of the groom will buy a home in order to be accepted as a marriage prosect. Also as a person that lives in china, the cost is way more important than gender roles as a barrier to having children. Another issue that she is wrong, is that only very wealthy women in china are housewives, the vast majority of women work, so they are not trapped in housewives role as she says. Honestly, she is saying so many incorrect things with a straight face.

[@yesyoucanTellme]

I am less dependent on others and haven't really thought about living the rest of my life with a man.

[@aritranaruto]

Good for you. Wish you well.

[@dekev7503]

Nobody cares

[@nickchkheidze9189]

it's fun when u r young but ur life will suck as u get older

[@xrfa7422]

When your friends die and you are too old to find a job anymore, let us know how things are going without a husband. It's cheaper for two people to live together and split tasks and expenses.

[@_aiborie]

@@xrfa7422 Lol research shows men benefit in marriage more than women, and married men tend to live longer than unmarried ones. Women will be fine, go worry about yourselves

[@akarna69]

PROBLEM?! A billion people, PROBLEM? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@happymelon7129]

18-1-2023 Japan’s Fukuoka Miyaka Mayor was involved in bullying: “You need to have three children to be called a woman.” More than 100 people complained 😅If you even worry about China Population decline , you must be freaking out about Japan Population decline. 😅 Japanese Avg age 48.6 years old. July 26, 2023 Japan’s population drops by nearly 800,000 with falls in every prefecture for the first time The population of Japanese nationals fell by about 800,000 people, or 0.65%, to 122.4 million in 2022 from the previous year, falling for a 14th straight year falling for a 14th straight year ... The current population of Japan in 2024 is 122,631,432, a 0.54% decline from 2023. The population of Japan in 2023 was 123,294,513, a 0.53% decline from 2022. The population of Japan in 2022 was 123,951,692, a 0.53% decline from 2021. The population of Japan in 2021 was 124,612,530, a 0.5% decline from 2020.

[@nidhavellir]

How can I subscribe to your newsletter?

[@bullpup1337]

whataboutism at play here

[@shawnaellcey6970]

Rational, taking into account the COST of child care. Perfectly said. She sounds smart to me! ❤

[@ishagaur8046]

They are aware and inspiration to many .

[@iskystvo]

The sound is bad, so I can't hear distinctly all what the woman says. Could you fix It please?

[@greenladylalaland4222]

Simple the cost of living hit the sky everywhere! We adults barely survive ourselves 😢

[@Smiley_101]

It sad that China babies policy is u can only have 1 and it been known for decades that they killed the baby if it not a boy ! Facts … it a big thing in Asia country to carry on the family last name . Vietnam u can have 2 and after is a penalty but still if we wants to complained about my body my choice here in the US compare to Asia countries n the freedom u having rn in the U.S. n make u rethink choice is the US really that bad n the rules n laws point period

[@PrateekSrivastavaIN]

Sound is really bad when Leta is speaking ☹️

[@CanTho2022]

China birth rates problem… EU: hold my beer… 😂😂😂

[@songwang9534]

The logic are so mess in this report. I really do not understand what they are trying to say... Very odd

[@mirror452]

- Birth rate temporarily drops because of MASSIVE expansion of higher education in the last few years - DW: "China doesn't want women to get educated"

[@pangrenxuan9274]

GOV let home price too high. labor law is invalid and work 996

[@angusmckenzie9622]

Whether Fincher's analysis is correct or not, looks more like gender than geo politics, I'm reminded of the theory that explained why so many young Irish girls entered convents in the 19th and early 20th centuries, from poverty stricken areas. If she married, it was life on a small holding in poverty with a tribe of children however if she entered the convent, she could end up in Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand running a hospital or a school.

[@gund89123]

Lot of people complaining about cost of living here. We are all responsible for this. 40 years ago below items didn’t exist. 1) Internet, monthly payments, I work from home 2 days a week, I was paying for 15 mbps down, 5 up, I see people paying lot more for 500 mbps, most people don’t need this. 2) smart phones, people buy new phone every 2 years. 3) food delivery, heard that most people order food delivery 2 times a week. 4) busying new electronics like laptops, desktop, gaming consoles, TVs People can save lot of money if they want but they don’t. At the end complain about increase cost of living.

[@robertsmith5744]

The World population is TOO High.

[@sagartomar3461]

Naah it's not

[@dion5804]

I agree. Every human being is a enormous cost for the planet in resources. Also, there will be no jobs in the future with the digital, AI and robotics advancements. People should shut down their reproduction instincts a little. Humans are apes, but not wild apes anymore.

[@ritas6971]

sorry for not commenting on the object, BUT: the quality of the sound is below DW-Quality. Couldn't you have rather a phone call or something else? Her voice is extremely struggling with the bandwidth :(

[@pizizhangsg1319]

Hello, you're interviewing a researcher on "left over " women who dont have children obviously, to comment about falling birthrate? Does she really know what she is talking about? Instead you should interview those who have married but not having babies?

[@tyalikanky]

If cost of life raised x10, and worker's gains only x3.5 - you shouldn't be very surprised of this drop. Also, they all try to live in cities instead of province - that's quite big mistake if you want healthy society.

[@ColinTan]

Japan has had this for the last twenty years.

[@brawhite6157]

China’s birth rate is lower than Japan’s