(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- Mainland China’s birth rate slowed to a record low last year as the country battles with a rapidly ageing population. The government's new three-child policy introduced in May last year has yet to take effect.

The number of newborn children dropped 11.5 percent in 2021 from the year before to 10.62 million, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics today. At 7.52 births per 1,000 people, this is the lowest birth rate since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The country’s population increased by 480,000 people in 2021 to 1.41 billion, according to the NBS. This does not include residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan nor foreigners.

The high parenting costs and skyrocketing house prices are the two main factors behind the low fertility rate, according to an online survey conducted by Soochow Securities earlier this month. Strong government support and good corporate incentives are still needed to encourage couples to have more children.

Only 62.5 percent of China’s population is of working age, aged between 16 and 59, some 882.22 million people, the NBS said.

The country is facing a severe challenge from an ageing population. The proportion of the population aged 65 and above climbed 0.7 percentage point from 2020 to 14.2 percent at 200.56 million people and that aged 60 and above edged up 0.2 percentage point to 18.9 percent, some 267.36 million people.

Urban residents increased by 12.05 million from a year earlier to 914.25 million, while rural dwellers declined by 11.57 million to 498.35 million. The urbanization rate gained 0.83 percentage point year-on-year to 64.72 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor