China is expecting a small baby boom in the "Year of the Dragon" that has just begun. Initial assessment of data from maternity hospitals after the February 10 New Year's celebration showed a "significant" increase in the number of newborns, according to the financial newspaper "Yicai" and the agency Reuters, reports UNN.
Details
In the Year of the Dragon, more babies are being born in hospitals across China, an increase that could mitigate the population decline in 2024 and cheer up politicians, Chinese media report.
The Yicai newspaper cited a hospital in Wuxi, in eastern China, which reported a 20% increase in the number of newborns compared to a year ago. A hospital in the northwestern province of Shaanxi also reported a 72% increase in newborns compared to 2023.
The marriage rate in China is closely linked to the birth rate, as unmarried mothers are often denied childcare benefits.
According to an analysis by the Beijing-based YuWa Population research institute, the cost of raising a child under 18 in the People's Republic of China is 6.3 times higher than economic output per capita. For comparison, in Australia, these costs are 2.08 times higher than the gross domestic product per capita, and it is also cheaper in France (2.24), the United States (4.11), and Japan (4.26).
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Meanwhile, Chinese policymakers have reiterated their concern about the declining birth rate among their rapidly aging population. Last year, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, said that for national development, it is necessary to "actively cultivate a new culture of marriage and childbearing.
According to the newspaper, many young people in China are choosing to remain single or postpone marriage. This is influenced by poor job prospects and a record level of youth unemployment.
However, it should be noted that in 2023, the number of marriage registrations in China increased for the first time in several years due to the pandemic. So far, raising children has led to a reduction in wage rates for women; men's livelihoods have remained largely unchanged, according to a new study by the Beijing Policy Institute.
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