The demographic crisis in China is deepening. Due to the huge drop in the birth rate, thousands of kindergartens in China have been closed. The number of elderly people is also rising at the same time. As a result, kindergartens are being replaced by old-age facilities.
China has closed thousands of kindergarten schools as child enrollment has dropped sharply across the country due to a significant decline in birth rates, according to a report.
According to the Chinese Education Ministry’s annual report, the number of kindergartens in China decreased by 14,808 in 2023, bringing the total to 274,400. It is the second consecutive annual decline in the latest indicator of China’s falling birth rates.
The number of children enrolment in kindergarten dropped by 11.55 per cent, or 5.35 million, last year to 40.9 million, which is the third consecutive year of falling numbers.
The number of primary schools also dropped by 5,645 to 143,500 in 2023, a 3.8 per cent fall. The decline reflects a broader demographic shift in China – where both birth rates and population could pose a serious threat to future economic growth.
Last year, China’s population dropped for the second year in a row, falling by over two million to 1.4 billion. The country recorded just nine million births in 2023, the lowest figure since 1949. Recently, India overtook China as the world’s most populous country.
China now faces a dual crisis: not only are birth and fertility rates declining, but the elderly population is also rising rapidly. By the end of 2023, nearly 300 million people were aged 60 and above, a number projected to surpass 400 million by 2035 and reach 500 million by 2050, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Keeping this in mind, kindergarten operators need to adjust strategically to meet new challenges, such as expanding early childhood education to include children under three and establishing an integrated care-education system.
Policy shifts to boost birth rates and address aging workforce
Officials blame the long-standing one-child policy, for China’s demographic crisis, which ended in 2016. The government revised the policy again in 2021, allowing up to three children per family to address couples’ reluctance to have more children due to high costs.
In response, officials are promoting marriage and shared parenting and are considering raising the retirement age from 60 to 63 for men and from 55 to 58 for female office workers, to cope with a shrinking workforce.
According to China’s National Health Commission, more than 30 percent of families with infants and young children need childcare services, but only 5.5 percent have access to a nursery or pre-kindergarten. China plans to simplify marriage procedures and make divorce more difficult to address this demographic crisis.
