Chinese mainland's population over 1.4 billion, birth rate to new low
Updated 22:35, 17-Jan-2020
By Guo Meiping

The total population on the Chinese mainland exceeded 1.4 billion at the end of 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. 

At the same time, the number of new births has continued to fall, hitting a new low since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). 

The bureau said that at the end of 2019, the total population of the Chinese mainland was 1.40005 billion, 4.67 million more than at the end of the previous year. 

The statistics include 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as well as the People's Liberation Army military personnel in active service. Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, Taiwan Province, and overseas Chinese are not included.

There were 14.65 million births in 2019 and the birth rate was 10.48 per mille. The mortality rate was 7.14 per mille, with 9.98 million people dying last year. The natural population growth rate was 3.34 per mille. 

The birth rate in 2018 was 10.94 percent, which was the lowest level since 1952 when the data became available. Last year saw a new low since the founding of the PRC.

China had 17.86 million new births in 2016, the year when the universal two-child policy was implemented, 1.31 million more than in 2015 and the highest since 2000.  

The number fell to 17.23 million in 2017, decreased two million to 15.23 million in 2018, and a further 580,000 in 2019.

By the end of 2019, the male population of the Chinese mainland was 715.27 million, the female population was 684.78 million, making the total population sex ratio 104.45. 

The working age population between 16 and 59 years was 896.4 million, 64 percent of the total population, 253.88 million people are aged 60 and above – 18.1 percent of the total, and the population of 65 years and above was 176.03 million, 12.6 percent of the total population, according to the bureau.