China’s population in 2025 decreased by 3.39 million people to 1 billion 404.89 million, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The population has declined for the fourth consecutive year.
This included 716.85 million men and 688.04 million women. These figures do not include the populations of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as foreigners living in China.
Last year, 7.92 million children were born in the country, compared to 9.54 million a year earlier. This is the lowest level in the history of calculations (since 1949). The birth rate was 5.63 per 1,000 people, compared to 6.77 in 2024.
The sharp decline may be partly due to the increase in 2024, most of which occurred during the Year of the Dragon, which is considered auspicious for marriage and childbirth in Chinese culture, experts note.
The number of deaths in China in 2025 increased to 11.31 million from 10.93 million a year earlier, according to the NBS. The mortality rate rose to 8.04 per 1,000 people from 7.76.
People aged 16 to 59 accounted for 60.6% of the total population, while those aged 60 and older accounted for 23%.
Cities were home to 953.8 million people, which is 10.3 million more than at the end of 2024. The number of permanent residents in rural areas decreased by 13.69 million to 451.09 million people. As a result, the share of the urban population increased by 89 basis points to 67.89%.
The average number of years of schooling among the population aged 16 to 59 reached 11.3 years, which is 0.1 years more than in 2024.
At the end of 2025, China’s GDP increased by 5% to 140.2 trillion yuan. The growth rate coincided with the government’s target and the pace of economic growth in 2024.
If current demographic trends continue, the EU population will age and begin to decline after the middle of the decade, and in a scenario of zero net migration, the decline could be sharp, to approximately 294 million by 2100, according to calculations based on Eurostat projections (EUROPOP2023).
According to Eurostat’s baseline scenario, which assumes continued positive net migration, the EU population will grow from 446.7 million in 2022 to a peak of 453.3 million in 2026, after which it will gradually decline to 419.5 million by 2100 (down 6.1% from 2022).
At the same time, Eurostat also publishes alternative scenarios (sensitivity tests), including a zero net migration option. In this scenario, the total population of the EU by the end of the century is significantly lower – estimated at around 294 million people, which means a reduction of about one-third from mid-2020s levels. These differences are also highlighted in visualizations based on Eurostat data, as cited by regional media.
The key driver of population decline is negative natural growth. According to Eurostat estimates, between 2022 and 2100, approximately 291.3 million people could be born in the EU, with 416.6 million deaths (a net reduction due to natural movement of approximately 125.3 million), while cumulative net migration in the baseline scenario will partially offset the losses, adding about 98.1 million people.
At the country level, the differences are even more noticeable. In Eurostat’s baseline scenario, the largest population declines by 2100 are expected in Latvia and Lithuania (more than a third), as well as in Greece. At the same time, a number of countries, on the contrary, show population growth due to migration, including Luxembourg and Ireland.
It is noted separately that for Croatia, Eurostat’s baseline scenario predicts a decline in population from about 3.86 million in 2022 to about 2.82 million in 2100, while in scenarios with stricter migration assumptions, the final figures may be lower.
The debt of the Ukrainian population for housing and communal services (HCS) in the third quarter of 2025 decreased by 5.4% compared to the previous quarter and amounted to UAH 100.8 billion. According to data from the State Statistics Service (SSS), Ukrainians paid a total of UAH 48.5 billion for housing and communal services in July-September 2025, which is 6.4% more than the amount charged, UAH 45.6 billion.
The debt for the reporting period for the supply of heat and hot water amounts to UAH 33.1 billion, the supply and distribution of natural gas – UAH 27.9 billion, the supply of electricity – UAH 16.5 billion, centralized water supply and sanitation – UAH 10.4 billion, apartment building management – UAH 9.5 billion, and household waste management – UAH 3.2 billion.
The highest level of debt for housing and communal services was recorded in Dnipropetrovsk (UAH 8.5 billion), Donetsk (UAH 4.3 billion), Poltava (UAH 3.2 billion), Kharkiv (UAH 1.9 billion), Kyiv (UAH 1.5 billion), Odesa (UAH 1.1 billion), Lviv (UAH 1 billion) regions and in Kyiv (UAH 2.8 billion).
Given the difficult situation in the energy sector, the state-owned enterprise Forests of Ukraine has decided to support Ukrainian households and keep the price of firewood for the population (within the social norm of 15 cubic meters) and the social sector unchanged until the end of the heating season, the state-owned enterprise’s press service reported on Telegram.
It is also noted that in the first ten days of December, the state-owned enterprise sold approximately 100,000 cubic meters of firewood, which corresponds to consumption in the first ten days of November, i.e., the demand for firewood is high but stable. At the same time, the company ships 12-15 thousand cubic meters of firewood to the population and social sector daily, which does not exceed the figures of previous years.
“Despite prolonged power outages, Ukrainians did not start buying more firewood. In September-November, we sometimes received calls from residents of large cities who were planning to move to villages. They asked about the terms of purchase and the possibility of remote payment. In the last month, there have been almost no such requests. City dwellers either go to relatives who have already stocked up on firewood or stay at home,” the state-owned enterprise said.
Firewood is available in almost every forestry of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.” Procurement is carried out at a high level, and the stock is constantly at least 150 thousand cubic meters. Deliveries to military units are also carried out on schedule and in full.
“Firewood, as before, will not be put up for auction—all supplies will be directed to the population,” assured “Forests of Ukraine.”
According to Eurostat data on material deprivation in the “Housing in Europe – 2025 edition” review, around 9% of the European Union population in 2024 could not afford to heat their homes adequately.
The EU’s statistical office notes that the problem of energy poverty and high utility costs remains significant for millions of households, despite the support measures taken after the 2022–2023 energy crisis.
Low-income households and residents of old, energy-inefficient housing in a number of Eastern and Southern European countries remain particularly vulnerable.
Sweden is donating 1.4 billion kronor ($133 million) to Ukraine, which will be used, among other things, to support the population in the winter.
According to the website of the Swedish public broadcaster SVG, the new support package was presented by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Aid Minister Johan Forsell on Monday.
“This is the largest support so far in Sweden’s bilateral assistance to Ukraine,” Kristersson said at a press conference.
Of this package, 900 million kronor will go to the World Bank’s Ukraine Recovery Fund, which supports Ukraine’s energy, housing, healthcare and transportation infrastructure. In addition, money taken from Sweden’s aid budget will be used to purchase heaters and energy equipment. According to Forsell, this was the request made by the Ukrainian side to Sweden.
He also accused Russia of conducting “energy terrorism” against Ukraine. “Russia is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to ensure that civilians, who are already under severe pressure, will have an even harder time. With this package, we want to help Ukraine both build new and rebuild what has been destroyed,” Forssell said.
At the same time, Kristersson warned of the consequences if the EU countries fail to agree on an expanded long-term budget at this week’s summit in Brussels. “I still hope that everything will work out. But I want to emphasize that we are not talking about the usual European disagreements that we sometimes have, because then you just have another meeting later, and that would have huge consequences if we don’t agree,” he said.
