Dear friends, today we will talk about the demographic situation of our country. Did you know that in recent years, the trend of our Chinese population has undergone earth-shaking changes? It's like a stock that is always going up in the market and suddenly starts to fall, and it can't stop falling even if it falls. It's hard to say anything about this, so you have to talk about it.
The number of people, the decline is not a joke
You see, by the end of 2023, the total population of our country will be 140967 thousand. However, you may not have noticed that only 9.02 million children were born that year, while the number of children who died reached 11.1 million. This means that our total population is 2.08 million less than the previous year. Yes, this is not the first time that it has decreased, and in 2022, we will reduce it by 580,000.
It's getting harder and harder to have children
Let's talk about having a baby. Do you remember that in the past, it was common for families to have several children, and each mother could have six children on average. But now, that number has become about one. Isn't this change amazing? By 2023, the total fertility rate (i.e., the average number of children per woman) will fall to around 1.0. This is the second-to-last of the world's major economies, and South Korea is a little lower than us.
What are the reasons?
Heavy financial burden: Young people today are facing greater financial pressures, especially in housing prices and the cost of education. When it comes to raising a baby, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is to have a stable home, and housing prices are so high, not counting a series of expenses such as education and medical care, which discourages many young families.
Stressful work: Jobs are highly competitive, and many young people work overtime as the norm. Such a working environment has become a major reason why they are reluctant to have children. After all, it takes time and effort to bring up a baby, but these are all taken up by work.
Women's career development: Women are increasingly focusing on their own career development, and pregnancy and raising children may affect career planning and promotion opportunities, leaving some women to choose to postpone or not have children.
Changes in educational philosophy: In the past, people thought that more children were more blessed, but now many families pursue "eugenics", preferring to have fewer children and giving the best environment and education to their children.
Trends in late marriage and late childbearing: Today's young people are more willing to enjoy the world of two people, which has led to late marriage and late childbearing becoming the norm. When the age of childbearing is delayed, the overall fertility rate naturally decreases.
Problems of the social security system: With the improvement of the social security system, the life of the elderly has more security, and the traditional concept of "raising children and preventing old age" has gradually faded.
Transition of family planning policy: In the past, family planning policies had a profound impact on the concept of childbearing, and even after the policy was liberalized, many people still maintained the concept of small families.
Lifestyle changes: Having children can mean sacrificing a lot of personal time for young people who are more focused on personal leisure and entertainment as the pace of modern life increases.
Population ageing: As life expectancy increases, the proportion of the elderly population increases, which naturally reduces the overall fertility rate.
These factors have combined to contribute to the continued decline in China's fertility rate. These problems require in-depth thinking and adjustment at the national and social levels in order to find effective ways to improve fertility. You see, according to our current situation, the number of children may continue to decline in the next few years. By 2030, there may be only 7.5 million babies expected to be born. Moreover, the number of elderly people is increasing due to the increase in life expectancy, and the number of deaths is expected to be about 16 million by then. What does this mean? The population of our country will continue to decline.
The industry is affected, what is the way out?
The most direct impact of this population decline is on related industries. The real estate industry, for example, may experience a long period of depression in the future. The education industry is also not optimistic, there are no children, where are the students? From kindergarten to college, the future may be affected.
Economic development, grow old before you get rich?
Let's talk about the economy. Some friends may think, there are fewer people, isn't there less competition, and it is easier to find a job? But the opposite may be true. Because economic activities revolve around people. There are fewer people, consumption is reduced, and production is not so meaningful. Coupled with the problem of an aging population, economic development may face more challenges.
The issue of retirement is even more difficult
For those of us who are elderly, pension may also be an issue. The current situation of eating food means that if there are fewer young people, it will be difficult for the country to have enough financial resources to ensure that everyone can enjoy their old age in peace. This has led to a situation where it is difficult to find a job and difficult to retire.
Finally, what do we do?
Dear friends, in the face of this situation, we should not just sit back and wait. The state has been aware of this problem, such as adjusting the birth policy, but the effect is really limited. This requires everyone from the state to society to each individual to think about solutions together. Practical actions have been taken to improve economic conditions, adjust housing prices, and optimize the nurturing environment.
See, there's no short-term solution to this problem, it's a long-term battle. But there is always a turning point in everything, we Chinese have a long history and profound cultural heritage, and we have survived many ups and downs, and we will definitely find a way out this time.
Therefore, we should not be discouraged, nor be blindly optimistic, but face up to the problem and work together to leave a better future for our children and their children.
Well, that's all for today, and everyone is welcome to stay tuned and discuss what the future of our country will be.