The number of children born in China in 2018 is expected to have dropped to the lowest level since 2000, signalling a “demographic crisis” that threatens already struggling economic growth prospects, mainland media and researchers said.
大陸媒體和研究人員表示,中國2018年新生嬰兒的數(shù)量預(yù)計降至2000年以來最低水平,這是“人口危機”的信號,威脅到早已低迷的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長前景。
The final figure for China births in 2018 will drop below 15 million, or more than two million fewer than in 2017, the state-run tabloid Global Times reported.
根據(jù)官方小報《環(huán)球時報》報道,2018年中國出生人口最終數(shù)量將降至1500萬以下,比2017年減少200多萬。
If confirmed, it will fall far short of the family planning authority’s previous estimates of up to 20 million births.
如果得到證實,這一數(shù)字將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于計劃生育部門此前估計的2000萬。
China’s National Bureau of Statistics is expected to release nationwide birth figures for 2018 later this month, but data released by local authorities has all pointed to a considerable drop in births.
中國國家統(tǒng)計局預(yù)計于本月晚些時候發(fā)布2018年全國人口出生數(shù)據(jù),但地方政府發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù)均顯示,出生率大幅下降。
Yi Fuxian, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Su Jian, an economist at Peking University, co-authored a paper arguing that China may have started to see a long-lasting fall in its population.
威斯康星大學(xué)麥迪遜分校研究員易福賢與北京大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家蘇建合著了一篇論文,認(rèn)為中國人口可能已經(jīng)開始出現(xiàn)長期下降的趨勢。
“The year 2018 will be remembered as a historical turning point for Chinese population,” Yi and Su wrote in a copy of the paper sent to the South China Morning Post.
“2018年將作為中國人口歷史性轉(zhuǎn)折點被銘記,”易和蘇在發(fā)給《南華早報》的一份文件中寫道。
“The Chinese population has started to fall, the ageing problems has accelerated, and economic vitality has weakened.”
“中國人口開始下降,老齡化問題加劇,經(jīng)濟(jì)活力減弱。”