Nine provincial-level regions in China post birth rates above 7‰ in 2025, Guangdong tops newborns: report
Nurses take care of newborn babies at a hospital in Zunyi, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo: Xinhua)
Nine of China's 31 provincial-level regions recorded birth rates exceeding seven per thousand in 2025, concentrated mainly in the western and southern parts of the country, while Guangdong Province retained with the most newborns for an eighth consecutive year, yicai.com reported, citing data from the China Statistical Yearbook 2026 compiled and published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The nine regions are Xizang, Guizhou, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Qinghai, Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan and Guangxi, according to the report. Besides, seven recorded positive natural population growth, namely Xizang, Xinjiang, Guangdong, Ningxia, Guizhou, Hainan and Qinghai.
Nationally, China recorded 7.92 million births in 2025, with a birth rate of 5.63 per thousand, down from 6.77 per thousand in 2024, according to the NBS. The number of births declined by 1.62 million from the previous year, following a temporary rebound in 2024 when births rose to 9.54 million.
The country's natural population growth rate stood at minus 2.41 per thousand in 2025, with 11.31 million deaths recorded during the year. China's total population reached 1.40489 billion at the end of 2025, down 3.39 million from a year earlier, according to the NBS.
Guangdong remained a notable exception to the broader national pattern of negative natural population growth. The province recorded 1.003 million births in 2025, accounting for approximately 12.7 percent of the national total, meaning roughly one in every eight babies was born in Guangdong, according to the yicai.com report.
The province's birth rate stood at 7.82 per thousand, while its natural population growth rate reached 2.26 per thousand, according to provincial statistical authorities. Guangdong was also the only provincial-level region to record more than 1 million births for six consecutive years.
Dong Yuzheng, a population expert working for the Guangdong Provincial Government, attributed Guangdong's relatively high birth figures to its younger population structure, deeply rooted family traditions and policy support, Nanfang Daily reported in April. The province has also been expanding support measures involving childcare, housing, employment and healthcare to support families raising children.
The latest birth figures also contrast with a rise in marriage registrations in 2025. According to a statistical communiqué released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on September 30, China registered 6.765 million marriages in 2025, up 10.8 percent year on year, with the marriage rate rising to 4.8 per thousand from 4.3 per thousand in 2024.