BEIJING
\nChina on Tuesday announced a slew of perks aimed at encouraging families to have more babies, as birth rates hit a record low and officials warned that the population will start to shrink by 2025.
\nThe world\u2019s most populous country has been grappling with a looming demographic crisis as it faces a rapidly ageing workforce, slowing economy and its weakest population growth in decades.
\nAlthough Beijing ended its draconian \u201cone-child rule\u201d in 2016 and last year allowed couples to have three children, birth rates have slipped over the past five years.
\nThe policy guidelines issued by the National Health Commission Tuesday urge both the central and provincial governments to increase spending on reproductive health and improve childcare services nationwide.
\nThey require local governments to \u201cimplement active fertility support measures\u201d, including offering subsidies, tax rebates, and better health insurance, as well as education, housing and employment support for young families.
\nAll provinces must also ensure they provide enough nurseries for children aged two to three by the end of the year in a bid to reduce a severe shortage of childcare services.
\nRicher Chinese cities have been doling out tax and housing credits, educational benefits and even cash incentives to encourage women to have more children, and the latest guidelines seek to push all provinces to roll out such measures.
\nChina\u2019s birth rate slipped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people last year \u2014 the lowest since records began in 1949, when Communist China was founded, according to National Bureau of Statistics data.
\nHigher costs of living and a cultural shift as people grow used to smaller families have been cited as reasons behind the lower number of babies.
\nChina\u2019s population will begin to shrink by 2025, health officials warned earlier this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING China on Tuesday announced a slew of perks aimed at encouraging families to have more babies, as birth rates hit a record low and officials warned that the population will start to shrink by 2025. The world\u2019s most populous country has been grappling with a looming demographic crisis as it faces a rapidly ageing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[10155,18,10154],"class_list":{"0":"post-277705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-birth-rate","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-perks"},"yoast_head":"\n