BEIJING — China’s population grew last year, the statistics bureau said on Thursday, in an apparent bid to quash reports that it had fallen, but stopped short of saying from which year numbers had grown.
On Tuesday, the Financial Times newspaper said China was set to report that its population fell below 1.4 billion last year from 2019, in the first decrease in five decades, citing people familiar with the matter.
The National Bureau of Statistics has delayed publishing the results of last year’s once-in-a-decade census, with no explanation apart from saying more preparatory work was needed. It had been due to announce the results in early April….
Keep on reading: China seeks to douse speculation of shrinking population