The lowering birth rate in China has become a cause for concern despite several efforts by the government to support and encourage young couples to have more children, an official report said.
The report, published by the National Health Commission, says China had just 9.56 million births in 2022.
The birth rate tumbled 10 percent last year to hit its lowest level on record - the lowest figure since records began in 1949.
According to the report, in 2022 China's population fell for the first time in six decades, dropping to 1.41 billion people. It also led domestic demographers to speculate that China will get old before it gets rich which will have a deleterious effect on the economy.
Almost 40 percent of new-borns last year were the second child, and 15 percent were from families with three or more children, it added.
To improve the flagging birth rate, the government has been rolling out a number of measures, such as efforts to increase childcare as well as financial incentives.
Earlier in May, President Xi Jinping himself presided over a meeting to study and look into the issue.