BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Mainland China saw its population decline for the third straight year in 2024, government data showed Friday, with the graying of the world's second-largest economy accelerating despite the scrapping of its "one-child policy" in 2016.

The population of China, excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, reached 1,408.28 million by the end of 2024, down 1.39 million from the previous year. The ratio of those aged 65 or older inched up 0.2 percentage point to 15.6 percent.

The birthrate recovered to 6.77 per 1,000 people from 6.39 in 2023, its lowest level since 1949, when Mao Zedong founded the Communist-led country.

The number of babies born stood at 9.54 million, up from 9.02 million in 2023 as the government implemented policies to encourage childbirth.

In 2021, China decided to allow married couples to have a third child, but so far, the country has not seen a baby boom, with experts pointing to the heavy financial burden on young couples to raise children.

In addition to ending the "one-child policy" introduced in 1979, China began to gradually raise the country's retirement age over a 15-year period from January this year, amid growing concerns that a rapidly aging population could constrain the nation's economic expansion.

According to U.N. estimates, India overtook China as the world's most populous nation in 2023. In 2022, the population of mainland China shrank for the first time in 61 years.