Peak population of 1.44 billion in 2029, China's government says.

China's population will reach 1.44 billion by 2029 according to a government report.

The study, conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Social Science Literature Publishing House, highlighted the need for political policies to manage an elderly population and a smaller national labour force.

As of today, China's population is 1.41 billion. However, the study suggests that once the peak population has been reached in 2029, a period of consistent decline will follow.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published an earlier article this month saying that by 2065, the population of China could be reduced down to 1.172 billion (the last time the population was at this level was in 1990).

China has taken several past initiatives to control its population growth. In 1979, the government introduced the One-Child Policy, limiting the amount of children parents could have. There were exceptions for parents to have a second child, if those parents came from ethnic minorities or if they lived in rural areas of China, (parents could have a second child if their first born was female). This policy was eventually eliminated in 2015.