Twenty-five-year-old Grace and her husband have decided to remain child-free, pushing back against pressure from family and society as China struggles to reverse its declining birth rate. A decade after Beijing ended its strict one-child policy and introduced a two-child policy in 2016, the country now faces a deepening demographic crisis marked by fewer births and a rapidly ageing population.
China’s population has shrunk for three consecutive years and the United Nations predicts it could fall from about 1.4 billion today to 633 million by 2100. In 2024, the country recorded just 9.54 million births, roughly half the number seen in 2016. Against this backdrop, more young couples are choosing to delay parenthood or reject it entirely, challenging long-held cultural norms around marriage and family.
Grace describes herself and her husband as DINKs, or “dual income, no kids”, a term that has gone viral on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, attracting more than 731 million views. She cited high living costs, career pressures and the need for financial stability as reasons for her decision, saying she would not consider having children without a secure income and savings. However, she added that publicly celebrating a child-free lifestyle could invite backlash.
In response to falling birth rates, Chinese authorities have rolled out pronatalist policies, including childcare subsidies of about $500 per year for each child under three and new taxes on contraceptives. Despite these efforts, experts say cultural shifts, economic uncertainty and long working hours under China’s “996” work culture continue to discourage family formation.
Demographers warn that persistently low fertility could accelerate population decline and ageing, increasing the burden of elderly care and slowing economic growth. For many young Chinese, however, the reality remains simple: limited time, rising costs and an uncertain future make starting a family feel increasingly out of reach. — AFP
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