The population stood at 1.408 billion by the end of the year, Beijing's National Bureau of Statistics said, down from 1.410 billion in 2023.

But the decline was less sharp than the previous year, when it was more than double the fall reported for 2022.

China ended its strict "one-child policy", imposed in the 1980s amid overpopulation fears, in 2016 and started letting couples have three children in 2021.

But that has failed to reverse the demographic decline for a country that has long relied on its vast workforce as a driver of economic growth.

Many blame falling birth rates on the soaring cost of living, as well as the growing number of women going into the workforce and seeking higher education.

People over 60 are expected to make up nearly a third of China's population by 2035, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research group.

In September, officials said they would gradually raise the statutory retirement age, which had not been raised for decades and had been among the lowest in the world.

The rules took effect from January 1.