Demographers estimate population data on January 17 to show the number of new births in 2023 falling below the 9.56 million in 2022 as long-standing issues such as gender inequality and high childcare costs remained largely unaddressed. China's birth rate has been declining since 2016. Demographers expect deaths to have risen sharply, as the Covid-19 virus swept through China's 1.41 billion population early last year after Beijing unexpectedly removed restrictions in December 2022. Local governments have announced various measures to encourage childbirth, including tax deductions, longer maternity leave and housing subsidies.