Number of children under 5 in China
China: Number of children under 5 was 58.04 million people in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
58.04 million people
Change on year
down 11.5%
World rank
2nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
138.24 million people
in 1972
All-time low
58.04 million people
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Number of children under 5 in China, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
China recorded 58.04 million people for number of children under 5 in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.5% on the previous year and down 35.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in China peaked at 138.24 million people in 1972 and was at its lowest, 58.04 million people, in 2023.
That places China 2nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Number of children under 5 in China, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 77.98 million people | — |
| 1951 | 83.18 million people | +6.7% |
| 1952 | 88.98 million people | +7.0% |
| 1953 | 94.75 million people | +6.5% |
| 1954 | 99.58 million people | +5.1% |
| 1955 | 103.78 million people | +4.2% |
| 1956 | 106.48 million people | +2.6% |
| 1957 | 108.51 million people | +1.9% |
| 1958 | 109.68 million people | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 106.52 million people | -2.9% |
| 1960 | 98.53 million people | -7.5% |
| 1961 | 90.01 million people | -8.6% |
| 1962 | 87.26 million people | -3.1% |
| 1963 | 93.86 million people | +7.6% |
| 1964 | 104.86 million people | +11.7% |
| 1965 | 116.11 million people | +10.7% |
| 1966 | 127.63 million people | +9.9% |
| 1967 | 133.89 million people | +4.9% |
| 1968 | 133.94 million people | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 134.17 million people | +0.2% |
| 1970 | 135.74 million people | +1.2% |
| 1971 | 137.09 million people | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 138.24 million people | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 137.40 million people | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 133.66 million people | -2.7% |
| 1975 | 127.88 million people | -4.3% |
| 1976 | 120.96 million people | -5.4% |
| 1977 | 114.03 million people | -5.7% |
| 1978 | 107.21 million people | -6.0% |
| 1979 | 102.14 million people | -4.7% |
| 1980 | 99.80 million people | -2.3% |
| 1981 | 99.70 million people | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 102.12 million people | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 104.91 million people | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 106.58 million people | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 108.75 million people | +2.0% |
| 1986 | 111.75 million people | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 115.10 million people | +3.0% |
| 1988 | 118.96 million people | +3.4% |
| 1989 | 123.32 million people | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 127.30 million people | +3.2% |
| 1991 | 127.57 million people | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 122.85 million people | -3.7% |
| 1993 | 116.83 million people | -4.9% |
| 1994 | 110.23 million people | -5.6% |
| 1995 | 102.32 million people | -7.2% |
| 1996 | 96.04 million people | -6.1% |
| 1997 | 92.47 million people | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 89.55 million people | -3.2% |
| 1999 | 86.98 million people | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 85.18 million people | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 83.82 million people | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 82.51 million people | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 81.54 million people | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 81.02 million people | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 80.52 million people | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 80.36 million people | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 81.03 million people | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 82.29 million people | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 83.93 million people | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 85.50 million people | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 86.74 million people | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 88.36 million people | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 89.77 million people | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 90.52 million people | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 90.75 million people | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 90.87 million people | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 90.72 million people | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 88.84 million people | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 85.37 million people | -3.9% |
| 2020 | 80.54 million people | -5.7% |
| 2021 | 73.86 million people | -8.3% |
| 2022 | 65.61 million people | -11.2% |
| 2023 | 58.04 million people | -11.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 58.04 million people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 447,677 people, 129.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 58.04 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 156,933 people, 369.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 97.94 million people | 77.98 million people | 109.68 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 112.03 million people | 87.26 million people | 134.17 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 125.44 million people | 102.14 million people | 138.24 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 109.10 million people | 99.70 million people | 123.32 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 107.21 million people | 86.98 million people | 127.57 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.22 million people | 80.36 million people | 85.18 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 88.74 million people | 85.37 million people | 90.87 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.51 million people | 58.04 million people | 80.54 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More reference data data for China
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 49.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 75.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 303.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 18.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 303.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 165.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 206.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 350.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,480 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 102.37 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 in China?
- Number of children under 5 in China was 58.04 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 138.24 million people in 1972.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 58.04 million people in 2023.
- How does China rank for number of children under 5?
- China ranks 2nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.