The number of kindergartens in China fell by more than 5% last year, the second year in a row that preschool institutions were in decline, reflecting the country’s falling birthrate.

In 2023, there were 274,400 kindergartens across China, down from 289,200 in 2022, according to a Ministry of Education statistical bulletin published last week.

China is grappling with a falling birthrate and an ageing population, related trends that are causing a headache for policymakers who have tried various measures to encourage people to have more children, with limited success.

The number of children enrolled in kindergartens also fell. In 2023 there were 40.9 million children in preschool education, according to the government’s figures, a decrease of more than 11% from the previous year.

In 2022, the number of kindergartens fell by 1.9%, while the number of children enrolled in kindergartens fell by 3.7%.

Several kindergartens have been converted into elderly care facilities in order to cater for the increasingly greying population.

Some regions are offering subsidies for families who have second or third babies. In Guangdong, a populous province in southern China, one village is offering bonuses of 10,000 yuan (£1,083) for a second baby, and 30,000 yuan for a third, according to Chinese state media.

Lian Jianzhang, an influential economist and demographer, argues that such incentives do not go far enough. In an article published in June, Lian called for monthly subsidies of up to 3,000 yuan for third and subsequent children, and also suggested a one-time cash reward of 100,000 yuan (£10,821) for new babies.

“The downward trend in fertility has a self-reinforcing inertia that can only be broken by policy tools,” Lian wrote.

In 2016, China’s decades-long one child policy was scrapped, and couples can generally now have up to three children. Sichuan, a province of more than 80 million people, has removed all restrictions on the number of babies that a parent can register.

Last year, China’s population dropped by 2.08 million, the second consecutive year of decline. The birthrate hit a record low of 6.39 births per 1,000 people.

Additional research by Chi-hui Lin