China announced recently that the country's mainland population fell by 2 million people in 2023.
中国最近公布，2023年中国大陆人口减少了200万。
This drop is the second yearly decrease in population, adding to concerns about the country's future economic growth.
这是中国人口的第二次年度下降，加剧了人们对该国未来经济增长的担忧。
The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, or 0.15 percent, to 1.409 billion in 2023. China does a full population count, or census, every 10 years.
中国国家统计局表示，2023年，中国的总人口减少了208万，即0.15%，降至14.09亿。中国每10年进行一次人口普查。
Increased deaths and decreased fertility
死亡率增加，生育率下降
The number of deaths rose by 690,000 to 11.1 million, more than twice the increase recorded in 2022. Population experts said the aging of the population and COVID-19 outbreaks account for most of the rise.
死亡人口增加了69万，达到1110万，是2022年记录的两倍多。人口专家表示，人口老龄化和新冠肺炎疫情是增长的主要原因。
But the data also suggested important information about the number of births, which fell by 540,000, or 5.6 percent. The drop was smaller than the decreases of the past three years.
但数据也提供了有关出生人数的重要信息，出生人数减少了54万，即5.6%。降幅小于过去三年的降幅。
Still, the decreasing birth rate suggests that the fertility rate is a long-term economic and societal problem for China.
尽管如此，出生率的下降表明，生育率对中国来说是一个长期的经济和社会问题。
The lower fertility rate, together with people living longer because of better health care, means China is slowly growing older.
较低的生育率，加上人们因为医疗保健改善而寿命更长，意味着中国正在慢慢老龄化。
Demographer Zuo Xuejin, formerly of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, estimated that the proportion of the population that is 65 or older could double to more than 30 percent by 2050.
原上海社会科学院人口学家左学金估计，到2050年，65岁及以上人口的比例可能会翻一番，达到30%以上。
These population changes could slow economic growth over time.
随着时间的推移，这些人口变化可能会减缓经济增长。
Other countries in the region also face long-term population problems. Japan's birth rate was 6.3 per 1,000 people in 2022, while South Korea's rate was 4.9.
该区域其他国家也面临着长期的人口问题。2022年，日本的出生率为每1000人6.3人，而韩国为4.9人。
"As we have observed again and again from other low fertility countries, fertility decline is often very difficult to reverse," University of Michigan demographer Zhou Yun said.
密歇根大学人口学家周云说：“正如我们在其他低生育率国家一再观察到的那样，生育率下降往往很难逆转。”
I'm John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)