According to the Chinese-language channel of public broadcaster TDM Macau, Kuok Cheong U reported that 284 newborns had been registered in the territory’s two hospitals by Monday, 17 fewer than in the same period in 2024.
After visiting the first babies born in the Lunar Year of the Snake, which began today, the leader said he expected the birth rate to “continue to drop” and added that “it would be good” if the number of births reached 3,500.
If Kuok’s prediction is correct, this will be the least fertile year since 2004, when the city registered 3,308 births.
According to official figures, in 2023 there were 3,712 births in Macau, down 43.5% on 10 years ago (6,571) and far from the high of 7,913 set in 1988, which was a Lunar Year of the Dragon.
Considered a symbol of royalty, fortune and power and the only mythical figure among the 12 signs of the ancient Chinese zodiac, the sign of the Dragon brings together a set of characteristics that traditionally lead couples to plan to have children during this period.
In fact, the father of the first newborn at Kiang Wu Hospital, surnamed Yip, told the local press that his son was born later than expected and that the couple were expecting him to still be ‘a dragon baby’.
Although 2024 was considered an auspicious year, Tao Xuemei and Wong Chio Fan, a young couple, told Lusa that their personal finances and those of the Chinese coffers do not allow them to take that step.
“We’re worried about having children because of the national debt, because of the economic recession. The choice of motherhood really depends on the country’s economic capacity and the ability to pay off the debt,” summarises Tao, 28, who works as a school counsellor.
“We don’t want to have children just to pass on [our] debts,” adds Wong, a 35-year-old contractor.
Mainland China’s economic growth in 2024 reached the 5% target set by Beijing, but some economists say the economy is expanding at a slower pace than official estimates indicate.
Nicholas Chen, an analyst at CreditSights, told Lusa that the group company of financial rating agency Fitch expects a slowdown to 4.7% this year, partly due to weak private consumption.
During the election campaign, Macau’s new chief executive admitted that one of the biggest long-term challenges is the low birth rate, which in 2023 reached an all-time low of 0.59 births per woman.
Sam Hou Fai said it was necessary to “create conditions in terms of education and employment” to increase the birth rate and promised to study the extension of maternity leave, currently set at 70 days, and the creation of a compulsory central welfare fund.
