China's first population drop in six decades sounds alarm on demographic crisis

A woman and a child walk past workers sorting toys at a shopping mall in Beijing, China January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.

The country's National Bureau of Statistics reported a drop of roughly 850,000 people for a population of 1.41175 billion in 2022, marking the first decline since 1961, the last year of China's Great Famine.