- China recorded 11.1 million deaths in 2023—an increase of around 690,000 compared to the previous year.
- China’s death rate for 2023 stood at 7.87 deaths per 1,000 people, up from 7.37 per 1,000 the previous year and the highest it has been since 1974.
China’s population declined for a second consecutive year in 2023, driven by declining birth rates and a major surge in the number of deaths, highlighting the potential impact of the country’s decision to abandon its stringent zero-Covid strategy at the start of that year, reports Forbes.
Key facts
- According to data published by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country recorded 11.1 million deaths in 2023—an increase of around 690,000 compared to the previous year.
- China’s death rate for 2023 stood at 7.87 deaths per 1,000 people, up from 7.37 per 1,000 the previous year and the highest it has been since 1974, during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution.
- Bloomberg notes the sharp spike in deaths is likely linked to a surge in Covid-19 the country saw last year after it lifted nearly three years of harsh zero-Covid measures that included extended lockdowns and mandatory testing.
- The agency’s data does not break down deaths based on causes and other causes may have also contributed to a jump in the death rate.
- As the rolling back of measures triggered a major spike in cases, China stopped reporting its daily pandemic numbers.
- According to official data shared with the World Health Organization, only 121,893 people have died from Covid-19 in China.
China witnessed almost an immediate surge in cases and hospitalizations starting in December 2022 as it reversed its stringent lockdown and testing measures. But questions were soon raised about the lack of data as Beijing suggested it had managed a smooth transition away from zero-Covid. In January 2023, China reported that nearly 60,000 people had died a month after lockdowns were lifted, but the number was still seen as a vast undercount.
According to a New York Times estimate, the deadly wave, which lasted between December 2022 and February 2023, likely claimed between a million and 1.5 million people. Another estimate by a group of scientists from Hong Kong and the U.S. published by the CDC suggested the death toll during that period could have been as high as 1.41 million.
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Source: Forbes
