Part 7/11:
In 2023, China experienced its second straight year of population decline, shedding 2.08 million people. This contraction is the first of its kind since the catastrophic Great Leap Forward, which led to the 1960s famine. China's current birth rate is at an alarmingly low 6.7 births per 1,000 people, and the total fertility rate hovers around 1.15. The long-term impacts of the one-child policy are stark, resulting in a population skewed towards an aging demographic. The workforce peaked in 2015 and will continue to shrink, with projections indicating a loss of at least 7 million workers over the next decade.