China’s population rose by 15.23 million people in 2018, marking a continued decrease in the growth rate of the world’s most populous nation. Numbers released by the National Bureau of Statistics today put the population at 1.395 billion in 2018, marking a growth rate of .38 per cent over the previous year.

The total included 30 million more men than women, considered a long-time outcome of the recently abandoned one-child policy under which boys were favoured over girls for cultural reasons. The government estimates China’s population will peak at 1.442 billion in 2029 before beginning to decline the year after.

China added more than 17 million people to its population in 2016 and 2017 following the scrapping of the one-child policy, but the effect hasn’t endured.

India, the world’s second most populous nation, has also been experiencing slower population growth. Its total population stood at 1.362 billion this month based on United Nations estimates.