In China's history, we are facing an unprecedented fertility crisis. The 2023 data shows that the number of new students is expected to fall below the 8 million mark, which is a staggering number, especially since seven years ago in 2016, when we still had 18.83 million new students. This astonishing decline not only indicates a huge change in China's fertility trend, but also brings a series of direct chain reactions.
Imagine a scenario where maternity hospitals close one after the other and childcare facilities close en masse. 2023 is likely to be the year with the lowest number of new students in the last 70 years. Young people no longer see marriage and childbearing as tasks that must be completed in life, but instead have a new attitude towards life. The data shows that in this year's"520"On the day of marriage registration, the population decline trend is alarming, and Guangdong has dropped by 404%, Hubei fell by 464%, Guizhou fell by 538%, and Hunan's decline was as high as 74%.
This trend has three serious consequences. First, obstetric services will face significant challenges. A hospital in Zhejiang has closed its obstetrics department because it can't make ends meet, and more smaller hospitals are likely to follow suit in the future. Secondly, the pension gap will become an unavoidable problem. Data shows that China may have a pension gap of 8 to 10 trillion yuan in the next decade, and the delayed retirement policy may become a means to solve this problem. Finally, the closure of educational institutions will also become the norm. Kindergartens across the country have closed 5,600, a wave that could spread to elementary, secondary and even college. In the future, we may face an embarrassing situation where there are more teachers than students.
Our country is at a crossroads, and we must face this fertility crisis and find solutions. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for us to rethink what true happiness is and what is the value of life.