India, Jan. 19 -- China's demographic crisis has entered a more serious phase, as new official data shows that China's birthrate fell to its lowest level since 1949, underlining the scale of the challenge facing Beijing despite aggressive efforts to persuade couples to have more children. The numbers highlight a growing disconnect between government policy and social reality in the world's second-largest economy.

According to the latest figures released by the National Statistics Bureau, China recorded just 5.6 births per 1,000 people last year. This is the lowest level since the founding of the People's Republic. Around 7.9 million babies were born nationwide, a sharp decline compared to the previous year and far below what demographers...