The number of births in China fell in the first six months of 2019 in both urban and rural areas, latest rounds of country-wide surveys have revealed, indicating a reluctance among couples to have a second child three years after Beijing abolished the one-child policy.
The falling birth rates differ from region to region.
In Chongqing, one of China’s four directly-administered municipalities with a population of 31 million, the rate of new births fell by a sharp 30 percent; in real terms, there were 68,400 fewer births compared to the same period last year.
Surveys in hospitals and communities in provinces (or states) like Shaanxi, Anhui, Sichuan and Hebei found a shrinking newborn population in the first half, with the rate of decrease ranging from 3 percent to 10 percent, state-run English newspaper, China Daily reported.