Chinese crisis: New births are at record lows, why are young people reluctant to have children? According to official data, the number of births in the mainland in 2022 will be only 9.56 million, falling below the 10 million mark for the first time and hitting a record low. This data raises concerns and concerns. It may not be intuitive to look at the numbers alone, but through a chart of population growth, we can see more clearly that since 2022, the Chinese population has begun to show negative growth. In addition to this, one has noticed the fact that of the births in the past year, the second child accounts for nearly 40% and the third child accounts for 15%. This means that the proportion of multiple births has increased significantly in the context of population decline.
For the upcoming situation in 2023, some netizens are not optimistic about the forecast. Although the state has liberalized the two-child and three-child policies to encourage people to have children, in fact, there are still a few families who can really afford to "repurchase" children. This makes people think, do young people really not want children? A survey on fertility intentions shows that the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age decrease with age, and the "post-00s" group has the lowest fertility intentions. The "post-00s" who are entering the age of marriage and childbearing are now choosing to "voluntarily have fewer children, give up more children, or even not have children".
This trend was reflected in a recent wedding in Zhejiang, where the bride originally planned to throw the bouquet to her sister group, but the result was that all 7 bridesmaids were unwilling to be hit by "luck" and fled the scene screaming. Although there are some jokes in this, it also reflects the fear of marriage and childbearing among modern young people. In the face of such a current situation, some people jokingly call the post-80s generation the worst generation. When they were born, the state stipulated that the population was too large to have siblings, and as a result, they all became only children and grew up alone. When the post-80s generation grew up, all kinds of debts followed, and even having children became a task of "repurchase of old customers".
The post-90s and post-00s began to pursue freedom and were unwilling to have children, so the heavy responsibility of the "two-child" and "three-child" policies liberalized by the state was directly pressed on the shoulders of the post-80s. A friend of obstetrician-gynecologist told me that he clearly felt that the people rushing to the forefront of the fertility army were a group of middle-aged people. Although their physical condition is not as good as when they were young, they will do everything they can, even if they use high-tech means, to fight again. However, when young people come to the hospital, although all indicators are suitable, their psychological defense line for fertility is unusually high. So, why are the post-90s and post-00s reluctant to have children now? Let's take a look at the answers of Zhihu netizens and see if they can resonate with us.
Some netizens believe that the pressure of reality is one of the main reasons why young people do not want to have children. Economic pressures, such as high housing prices and the high cost of education, make it impossible for young people to take on the responsibility of raising children. In addition, the society is highly competitive and the workplace is stressful, and young people need to spend more time and energy to pursue their careers, and they have no time to take care of the growth of their families and children. Moreover, the anxiety and uncertainty of modern society have further exacerbated young people's hesitation and fear of childbearing. It has also been suggested that changes in attitudes and values are also one of the reasons why young people are reluctant to have children. With the progress and development of society, people's concepts of marriage and childbearing have changed.
The traditional concept of family is gradually abandoned by a new generation of young people, who pay more attention to their personal development and pursuits, and are unwilling to focus all their energy on family and children. In addition, women's opportunities and rights to pursue professional work have also made them more inclined to career development than childbearing. For this problem, I think the key to solving this problem is to provide better social support and policy guarantees. First, we need to build better social protection systems to reduce the economic pressure on young people and create better living conditions for them. Second, we should provide more flexible working regimes so that young people can better balance career and family.
In addition, we also need to strengthen the popularization of sex education and marriage and childbearing knowledge, and improve young people's fertility awareness and ability. In the face of the downward trend of Chinese, we cannot stand idly by. Young people are the future of the country, and we should pay more attention to their needs and difficulties and provide them with a better living environment and opportunities. Only in this way can we achieve sustainable population development and lay a solid foundation for the prosperity and stability of the country. Finally, I would like to ask everyone, what do you think about the reasons why young people do not want to have children? How do you think this problem should be solved?
The child who is raised becomes a 996 employee, a house slave for 30 years, and may be unemployed at the age of 35, and in the end, the state, the capitalists, and the bank thank you, but your children do not thank you. This is not a natural rebellion of young people, who, after much deliberation, find that the cost of silence in childbearing is too high. They don't want to work hard for their children and end up living a life similar to their own. Having a child was supposed to create a better life for him, but now young people can't even take care of themselves, so why not talk about pouring their hearts and souls into a little baby. For young people to choose "Dink", many elders find it difficult to understand, but young people are soberly aware that there is no need for reasons not to have children, and reasons are needed to have children.
The topic of having children has always been a "regular" on the hot search list. Recently, an economist publicly expressed his views on the fertility of young people, saying that children are durable consumer goods that can bring long-term returns, and that it is wrong for young people not to have children. Although experts came forward to clarify that their remarks were misunderstood, it can be seen that experts, including her, are anxious. In fact, young people do not need experts to tell them the importance of having children, and they are deeply aware of the heavy burden of childbearing. The current social environment makes young people afraid to decide to have children easily.
They face enormous financial pressures, and the 996 work system leaves them with little time to take care of their families; High housing prices make it impossible for them to own their own home; The competitive job market makes them worry about losing their jobs. Under such circumstances, how can they take responsibility for raising children? They don't want their children to have a life similar to their own, or even harder. Having a baby is not just about giving him a bite to eat, just feeding him. It requires an investment of money, time, and effort, comparable to investing in a company. Today's young people are exhausted and struggling, and they cannot bear the burden of pouring their hearts and souls into a small baby.
They are not willing to sacrifice their happiness and quality of life for the sake of their children. Moreover, having a child is not only to pass on the family, but more importantly, to create a better life for him. However, many elders find it difficult for young people to choose "Dink". They think that in the past, when they did not have enough to eat, wear and warm, they could raise a few children to grow up, but now they are rich in material resources but feel that the burden of raising children is too heavy. Some elders even kidnap young people morally, believing that not having children means not being filial piety or abandoning the future of the country. However, young people are soberly aware that there is no need for reasons not to have children, and reasons are needed to have children. They don't want to easily give up their happiness for society's expectations.
On this issue, experts persuade young people to have more children, believing that the country needs them. They believe that childbirth is the future of the country and the foundation for ensuring the prosperity of society. However, the persuasion of experts often disgusts young people. What young people desperately need is not persuasion, but society to provide a better environment and conditions for them to have the courage and ability to procreate. Only in this way will young people be willing to work for the future of their children. In general, young people choose "Dink" not by nature, but by their rational choice after careful consideration. They face enormous financial pressures and are unwilling to sacrifice their happiness for the sake of their children's future.
And the persuasion and moral kidnapping of their elders will only make them more determined in their choices. Therefore, society should pay attention to the needs of young people and provide better employment opportunities, wealth distribution mechanisms and living security systems to encourage them to choose fertility courageously and rationally. Finally, we have to ask, how can we create an environment where young people want to have children? Please leave a message to share your thoughts and suggestions. Chinese problems are getting worse, and demographer Mr. Liang Jianzhang said in an interview that China's demographic situation this year is worrying, even more serious than Japan's. Negative population growth will inevitably lead to a series of social problems, one of which is the intensification of deep aging.
According to the seventh population census, in 2020, the proportion of elderly people aged 65 and above in 12 provinces in the mainland exceeded 14%, and by 2021, this proportion increased to 15 provinces, including Hebei, Beijing, Zhejiang and other places. The increase in the elderly population has brought great pressure to the young and middle-aged generation. At the same time, the decline in the number of newborns will also affect future school enrollment and may lead to a reduction in the workforce. This will cause turmoil in all walks of life, weakening the country's competitiveness and innovation. In other words, not having children will lead to a decline in overall productivity, which will surely be overtaken by other countries in the coming decades.
Yuan Xin, a professor at the School of Economics of Nankai University, also raised his own concerns, believing that from the perspective of economic development, this will change people's consumer market in the future. In this regard, we need to recognize that the continued decline in national fertility is not just an individual problem for young people, but the future of the entire country. Young people dare not easily imagine the picture of raising the next generation, mainly due to economic pressures. Yuan Xin, a professor at Nankai University's School of Economics, also pointed out that young people's lack of money, energy, time and hope is the main reason why they dare not give birth easily. So, how to stimulate the motivation of young people to have children? The Observer Network conducted a corresponding survey, and all options pointed to one keyword: money.
Money can't solve all problems, but it can solve most of them. Young people clearly know that with sufficient financial support, they will be able to spend more time with their children and solve the burden of education, medical care, etc. However, financial support alone is not enough to solve the problem. In addition to economic support, social institutions also need to be adjusted accordingly. For example, more flexible working regimes and better parental leave policies are available to enable young people to better balance work and family responsibilities. In addition, society should increase support for families, build better childcare facilities and services, and reduce the pressure on young parents.
While addressing economic and social system issues, it is also essential to cultivate good family values. The family is the basic unit of society, and good family relations and family education are essential to cultivate the healthy growth of children. The government, educational institutions and social organizations should work together to provide relevant training and guidance to help young couples establish a correct family concept and educational concept. In general, solving population problems requires a comprehensive approach to the economy, social system and family education. Providing financial support is the key to solving the problem, but it is not the only factor. Governments, societies and individuals should work together to create a hopeful and motivated environment for young people to have children.
Only in this way can we effectively alleviate the population problem and maintain the country's competitiveness and innovation. Finally, I would like to ask a question, what other measures do you think are there to motivate young people to have children? Please leave a message to share your views and suggestions. How to solve the problem of declining fertility rate on the mainland? The fertility rate on the mainland has been on a downward trend, which has made the government and all sectors of society very worried. Some people believe that to increase fertility, it is necessary to improve people's willingness and ability to have children. But how to do that? First of all, we need to be clear that fertility is not a simple matter. For many families, there are many factors to consider when having children, such as finance, work, education, the growth of children, and so on.
Therefore, we should not look at the issue only from an individual perspective, but from the perspective of policies, institutions and all aspects of society. In this regard, we can learn from the experience of some countries. For example, the Nordic countries have consistently high fertility rates, thanks to their extremely generous fertility benefits. These countries provide a one-time maternity grant for women and a cash subsidy for parents of young children. In addition, all five Nordic countries offer paid parental leave of more than 11 months, which allows parents enough time to accompany their children as they grow. If we can also provide better maternity benefits and childcare leave like the Nordic countries, I believe it will be of great help to increase the fertility rate on the mainland.
In addition, we should strengthen the protection and care of pregnant women, and provide them with better medical services and life security. In this way, families will be more willing to have children, making parenting easier and more enjoyable. Of course, this is not an easy task. We need the joint efforts of the government, enterprises and all sectors of society to truly solve the problem of declining fertility. We hope that more people will join this cause and contribute to the future society and family. Finally, we also hope to hear more people's views and suggestions on fertility issues. How do you think the mainland can raise fertility? What are your thoughts and suggestions on this issue?
Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to share and discuss with us. How to solve the problem of population decline? Fertility support policies are introduced everywhere, but can they really encourage young people to have children? In fact, in addition to material support such as child allowance, family allowance, and extended maternity leave, we also need more humanistic care and social support. First, we need to value the importance of family. The family is the basic unit of society, and a good family environment plays an irreplaceable role in the growth of children. Therefore, we need to provide more support and protection for families, such as strengthening family education guidance and providing high-quality family medical services. Second, we need to strengthen humanistic care for young people.
In modern society, many young people often lack the time and energy to take care of their children under the pressure of work and life. Therefore, we need to provide more childcare services and assistance, such as opening public nurseries, providing parenting guidance, and so on. In addition, we need to strengthen social support. Abroad, there are many organizations and volunteers who provide help and support to families with children, such as providing children's activities, volunteer services, and so on. Such social support not only reduces the burden on families, but also provides children with a broader space for growth. Finally, we need to strengthen the dissemination and popularization of fertility policies. Many young people lack knowledge of fertility policies and are unaware of what support and help are available.
Therefore, we need to step up our advocacy efforts so that more young people can understand and benefit from these policies. To sum up, encouraging young people to have children requires not only material support, but also more humanistic care and social support. Only in this way can the problem of population decline be truly solved. Do you have any other suggestions and ideas? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area.