Yahoo TV

China just released the results of its latest census.

And there could be a demographic crisis lurking in the data.

The population of mainland China rose to 1.41 billion - a gain of 5.38% over the last census ten years ago.

That's the lowest growth rate since proper surveys began in 1953.

National Bureau of Statistics chief Ning Jizhe explained the problem:

"The census also shows some structural discrepancies in our population development. For instance, the working-age population and the fertile female population have shrunken in scale. The ageing population has grown, and the total fertility rate decreased, and the number of births were also low."

The data show a fertility rate of 1.3 children per woman in 2020.

That's on a par with rapidly ageing societies like Italy and Japan.

The number could signal that China already faces rapid population decline - without having first accumulated the wealth of western nations.

A shrinking population will mean fewer workers, and thus lower tax revenues - limiting China's ability to pay for the growing number of elderly folk.

In Shanghai one mum-to-be said she wasn't surprised by Tuesday's (May 11) figures.

"I think it's normal. Property prices are high and young people are under great financial pressure now. For us to have a child, we needed a certain financial foundation, then we considered it."

In 2016 China dropped a one-child policy intended to stem rapid population growth.

Now there will be pressure on policymakers to ramp up incentives for couples to have more children.

People are having kids later as they prioritise careers, and cite cost-of-living challenges as another reason to wait.

The United Nations now predicts China's population will start declining from 2030.

Some state media reports suggest the peak could come much sooner.