China’s population drops for first time since 1961

STORY: China’s population has shrunk for the first time since 1961

dropping by roughly 850,000 to 1.41175 billion in 2022

The historic turn is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in citizen numbers

causing domestic demographers to lament that China will get old before it gets rich

Much of the demographic downturn is the result of China's 1980-2015 one-child policy

Sky-high education costs have also put many off having children

Online searches for baby strollers on China's Baidu search engine are down 41% since 2018

The reverse is playing out in India, where searches for cribs rose almost five-fold

lending weight to predictions that India will become the world's most populous nation this year