The number of newborns in China last year was the lowest since the rule of Mao Zedong, Bloomberg reports, demonstrating that Beijing’s decision to lift the one-child policy has had little effect. In 2018, 15.23 million Chinese babies were born, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, marking a decline of 2 million from the previous year. The threat of an aging population comes at a time when China is facing a prolonged slowdown in its economic growth rate. One Chinese research institution has even forecast that the population could begin to contract as early as 2027 if the current birth rate persists. “China should not only fully relax the family planning policy, but also introduce policies to encourage births,” said demographer He Yafu.