By Alex Vuocolo
Headlines out of China were a drag on world markets Tuesday morning.
The country recorded 850,000 fewer people at the end of 2022 than the previous year. While China's rate of population growth has been slowing for years, most experts were not expecting a decline for at least another decade. This is the first drop since the 1950s, when the Communist Party's attempts to rapidly industrialize and collectivize farming led to a massive famine.
It's unclear how much the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the decline, given the lack of transparency around the country's reporting practices. What is clear is that one million fewer babies were born in 2022 than the year before, while deaths jumped from 10.14 to 10.41 million.
China's leaders have long considered overpopulation a problem, but in 2016 the government ended its controversial one-child policy in an effort to bolster birth rates.
Meanwhile, the country also reported its second-lowest growth rate in at least four decades.
The second-largest economy in the world grew by 3 percent in 2022, which is less than half the 2021 rate of 8.1 percent — though slightly higher than the 2.4 percent rate in 2020, when countrywide coronavirus shutdowns essentially ground the country to a halt.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the country reported zero growth.
Notably the country in recent months has eased up on its Zero-COVID policies, which reinstated lockdowns whenever there was an outbreak, sending shockwaves through the global economy.
In the West, China is synonymous with rapid economic and population growth. But these reports point toward a new era for the developing country.
Cheddar News' Shannon LaNier got behind the wheel of a 2023 McLaren GT at Velocity Driving — a driving range on Long Island where customers can pay for a chance to ride their favorite exotic cars.
Cheddar News' Shannon LaNier got behind the wheel of a 2023 McLaren GT at Velocity Driving — a driving range on Long Island where customers can pay for a chance to ride their favorite exotic cars.
A tornado ripped through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, killing five people and causing widespread destruction as the third in a series of deadly massive storms over the past two weeks struck the nation's heartland.
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was deemed to be the busiest in the world, according to industry data, with Dallas/Fort Worth a close second.
The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules that limit emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants from coal-fired power plants.
King Charles III’s wife has been officially identified as Queen Camilla for the first time, with Buckingham Palace using the title on invitations for the monarch’s May 6 coronation.
Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, has been fatally stabbed in San Francisco.
Authorities say at least five people were killed and an unknown number of others were hurt when a large tornado tore through an area of southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday.
Taylor Swift is selling out arenas right now on her 'Eras' concert tour, and during a recent stop in Las Vegas, a love story was unfolding in the audience while she was singing her song "Love Story" on stage. Brian Johannes Monteverdi was recording the show when he noticed this mid-concert marriage proposal.
On Monday, the barcode or "universal product code" marked its 50th anniversary.
