China’s population to peak at 1.44B in 2029: report

China’s population is set to peak at 1.44 billion in 2029, according to a new research report released Friday.

Reuters reported Saturday that the country will now have to create new policies to manage its aging population and diminishing workforce, according to the report, which was compiled by government researchers.

{mosads}According to China Academy of Social Science’s “Green Book of Population and Labor,” China’s population will enter a long period of “unstoppable” decline in 2030. China is currently the world’s most populous country.

“From a theoretical point of view, the long-term population decline, especially when it is accompanied by a continuously ageing population, is bound to cause very unfavorable social and economic consequences,” the report reads, according to Reuters.

China’s population could fall to 1.17 billion by 2065 if fertility rates do not change, researchers wrote.

The country’s birthrate fell 3.5 percent in 2017 and is thought to have fallen again last year.