China’s birth rate has hit a record low. That could shake the world economy.

Summary

This Business Insider article makes the following points:

• There has been a big drop in China's birth rate; see China census: Data shows slowest population growth in decades.

• A low birth rate means a reduction in the working-age population, which is likely to seriously impact the Chinese economy.

• If Chinese production stalls, this could impact inflation worldwide.

• In 2020 China's birth rate was 8.5 births per 1000.

• For comparison, India's birth rate is running at nearly 18 births per 1000.

• The USA current birth rate is 12 births per 1000, see U.S. Birth Rate 1950-2021 | MacroTrends.

• However, the US population is bolstered by immigration as the migrant population of the USA in 2020 was over 46 million. 

• China's immigrant population in 2020 was half a million, see Immigration by Country 2021. 

• China's fall in population is due to its one-child policy, which China only abandoned in 2016, see The Effects of China's One-Child Policy.

• People's preference for boys also exacerbated China's problem, see China's gender imbalance may take decades to resolve. 

• China's slow economic growth is likely to impact the world economy significantly, especially in developing countries. 

• It is likely also to affect China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative

• China could be following Japan, whose birth rate has dropped to an alarming 7.3 births per 1000, see Japan Birth Rate 1950-2021.

References

• Apr 2021 ABC NEWS China seeks to douse speculation of shrinking population
• Mar 2021 THE NATIONAL INTEREST TheComing Demographic Collapse of China | The National Interest
• May 2021 BBC NEWS China census: Data shows slowest population growth in decades
• Dec 2021 CNN China's birthrate in 2020 just hit another record low. But the worst is yet to come