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Elon Musk says China will lose 40% of its population every generation at current birth rate

Elon Musk's comments came at a time when the Chinese government has been seeking to restore confidence after Covid restrictions disrupted people’s willingness to get married and have children.

June 07, 2022 / 17:06 IST
"China had its lowest birthrate ever last year, despite having a three-child policy," Elon Musk tweeted.

Elon Musk has once again voiced concern over China's declining population. The richest person in the world took to Twitter sharing his apprehension and said that at the country's current birth rate, China would lose about 40 per cent of its people every generation

"Most people still think China has a one-child policy. China had its lowest birthrate ever last year, despite having a three-child policy! At current birth rates, China will lose ~40% of people every generation! Population collapse. (sic)," Musk tweeted in response to a BBC article.


Earlier, the Tesla CEO had said that the narrative that more people are choosing not to have kids because it is harmful to the environment is "total nonsense". He had also shared a report on the decline in fertility rate in the US and said, "US birth rate has been below min sustainable levels for 50 years."

In a video where Musk declared that the biggest problem in the next 20 years would be population collapse, he was supported by Chinese business magnate and co-founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma.

China has been facing a massive demographic challenge as the workforce shrinks in the rapidly ageing country. Its birth rate hit a record low in 2021. Only 10.6 million babies were born in China last year, the lowest number recorded since the Communist Party took power in 1949, reported the South China Morning Post.


Musk's comments came at a time when the Chinese government has been seeking to restore confidence after Covid restrictions disrupted people’s willingness to get married and have children.



Elon Musk’s concern is valid. My peers and I have been predicting a whopping decline in population for a decade,” Huang Wenzheng, a demographer and senior fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) in Beijing told the publication.


“If the government does not change its mindset and realise human beings are the core competitiveness of a country, the declining trend will not be reversed.”

Ankita Sengupta
first published: Jun 7, 2022 04:57 pm

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