China is facing a demographic crisis, leading to the closure of thousands of kindergartens as birth rates continue to decline. In 2023, the number of kindergartens fell by 14,808 to 274,400, with kindergarten enrollment dropping by 11.55% (5.35 million children) to 40.9 million. This decline reflects a broader trend of decreasing birth rates, which has caused China’s population to shrink for the second consecutive year, dropping to 1.4 billion. In 2023, only nine million births were recorded, the lowest since 1949, and the elderly population is rising sharply, with projections of over 500 million elderly by 2050. Many kindergartens are being repurposed as care centers for seniors, highlighting the shifting demographic needs. The situation is attributed to the long-standing one-child policy, now revised to allow three children, but the impact has been minimal.
https://m.rediff.com/news/report/why-have-thousands-of-kindergartens-shut-down-in-china/20241027.htm
