BEIJING - China’s population grew at its slowest pace in decades, facing a shrinking workforce as fewer couples are having children, according to government data released on Tuesday — a trend that could pose serious challenges for the country’s economic ambitions.China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced after a once-a-decade census that the population rose by 72 million people over the past 10 years to 1.411 billion in 2020.
It said annual growth averaged 0.53%, down by 0.04% from the previous decade.The figure was the narrowest increase since modern census-taking began in 1953, according to Reuters.
The ruling Communist Party has enforced birth limits since 1980 to restrain population growth but worries the workforce is shrinking..