China has launched its first nationwide childbirth subsidy to encourage larger families, as the country struggles with a declining birth rate and rising costs of raising children.
Under the new policy, parents will receive an annual payment of 3,600 yuan (approximately $500 or £375) for each child under the age of three, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The measure, announced on Monday, will be applied retroactively from January 1 and could benefit around 20 million families.
Over a three-year period, the subsidy could total up to 10,800 yuan per child. Families with children born between 2022 and 2024 are also eligible for partial support. The initiative forms part of a broader strategy by the Chinese Communist Party to reverse demographic decline, despite lifting the one-child policy nearly a decade ago.
Several cities have also introduced local incentives to boost birth rates. In March, Hohhot in northern China offered couples with at least three children up to 100,000 yuan per newborn, while Shenyang provides 500 yuan monthly to families with a third child under the age of three.
Authorities are also being urged to expand access to free preschool education to ease the financial burden on young families. A study by the YuWa Population Research Institute estimates the cost of raising a child in China to age 17 is around $75,700, making it one of the most expensive countries for child-rearing relative to household income.
Despite a slight rise in births—9.54 million babies were born in 2024—the population has continued to shrink for the third year in a row, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. With an ageing population of 1.4 billion, Beijing is under increasing pressure to reform demographic policies to safeguard long-term economic growth and social stability.
