CHINA-ECONOMY: DECLINE IN WORKING POPULATION
China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that working-age population fell by 4.87 million last year, sharper than the 3.71 million decline recorded in 2014. Also, approx 16.55 million babies were born last year, down from 16.87 million in 2014. The workforce of China, which has 1.37 billion people, now stands at 911 million.China's migrant population also dropped by 5.68 million to 247 million, meaning that fewer were going to the cities to look for work.
Economist Li Xunlei told the official Xinhua news agency that the working-age population decline will hit consumption, given that this group of people formed the bulk of consumers.
(Comment: Since it first began shrinking in 2012, the working-age population has fallen by some 13 million, or more than double Singapore's population.)
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