China's fertility rate is estimated to have dropped to a record low of 1.09 in 2022, the National Business Daily has said.
That figure, which indicates the number of births per woman, is likely to rattle authorities who are trying to boost the population, which has fallen for the first time in over six decades.
The state-backed Daily said that the figure from the Population and Development Research Centre means that China now has the lowest fertility level among nations with a population of more than 100m.
It already ranks as one of the world's least fertile countries alongside South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
This year, China's population shrank for the first time since 1961.
The falling fertility rate and aging population have prompted the authorities to implement an array of measures aimed at lifting the birth rate, including financial incentives and improved childcare facilities.
In May, President Xi Jinping personally presided over a meeting to consider possible responses.
China has said that it will focus on education, science and technology to improve population quality, and will strive to maintain a "moderate fertility" level to support economic growth in future.
But the latest United Nations projections indicate that the country will lose nearly half of its population by the end of the century, with recent research indicating that this will hamper economic performance.
High childcare costs and the impact on their careers have put many women off having more children, or any at all.
Gender discrimination and traditional stereotypes forcing women to care for children are still widespread throughout the massive country.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Family Planning Association said that the number of childless women in the special Chinese administrative region has more than doubled in the past five years, rising to over 43%.
The proportion of childless couples also rose, while the average number of children per woman dropped from 1.3 in 2017 to a record low of 0.9 last year, according to its survey.
