China’s birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since the Great Famine of 1961, when millions of people starved to death and reproduction consequently plummeted. During the country’s two-week annual parliamentary meetings, March 3-15, officials focused on the looming crisis reflected in statistics that say 17.9 per cent of the population is now over age 60 and that fewer babies are being born. As a result, China faces a dwindling labour force with a larger dependency ratio for the greying…
