China's population will drop by around 350 million by 2100, according to a UN report that comes amid the government's ongoing efforts to implement a two-child policy.
The population is set to decrease every year after 2029, according to a report released Wednesday by the UN's Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
China's workforce contracted for third consecutive year in 2014, with 3.7 million people retiring, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in January.
Ten ministerial-level departments, including the ministries of civil affairs and education, jointly released a circular last year calling for the country to step up its preparations for the difficulties that will be caused by China's aging society.
Huang Wenzheng, a former Harvard University assistant professor, said that China might see its population drop to 700 million by 2100, arguing the UN's forecast is too "optimistic."
Analysts have been calling for a loosening of government family planning restrictions to slow the aging of society.
"It's long past time that China should relax it's family planning policy and implement a second-child policy for all couples to tackle the problem of the shrinking population,"Huang said.
Twenty-nine provincial-level regions have relaxed the one-child policy to allow couples to have a second baby if either parent is an only child.
National Health and Family Planning Commission said on July 10 that "the mission is to continue carrying out the second-child policy," which has been seen as the first concrete move towards implementing a second-child policy.
However, fewer couples have registered to have a second child than expected. Analysts speculate that this may be due to the high cost of raising children.
