BEIJING: China on Tuesday announced a slew of perks aimed at encouraging families to have more babies, as birth rates hit a record low and officials warned that the population will start to shrink by 2025.

The world’s most populous country has been grappling with a looming demographic crisis as it faces a rapidly ageing workforce, slowing economy and its weakest population growth in decades.

China population to begin shrinking by 2025

Although Beijing ended its draconian “one-child rule” in 2016 and last year allowed couples to have three children, birth rates have slipped over the past five years.