Closure of Maternity Wards Fuels Chinese Debate Over Population Decline

October 5, 2023

(The Guardian) – A number of hospital obstetrics units in China have closed, prompting discussion about the effects of China’s dramatically falling birthrate. Several hospitals in Zhejiang province have reportedly closed or downsized their obstetrics units, along with hospitals in Jiangsu and Guangdong. China’s birthrate fell to a record low in 2022, with just 9.56m births, a drop of nearly 10% compared with 2021. That meant the population shrank for the first time since 1961, a year of mass famine in China. The slump is fuelling a demographic crisis in China, with an ageing and shrinking population that threatens to derail the country’s GDP growth. This year India officially overtook China to become the world’s most populous country. (Read More)