BEIJING, China (AFP) – China said on Tuesday it would introduce free pre-school education from the autumn, as the world’s second most populous nation faces a looming demographic crisis.

“Starting in the fall semester of 2025, childcare and education fees will be waived for children attending public kindergartens in the year before school,” said the State Council, China’s cabinet.

The announcement comes a week after the country said it would offer parents the equivalent of $500 per year for each child under the age of three.

China’s population has declined for three consecutive years, with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from around 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100.

There were just 9.54 million births in China last year, half the number in 2016, the year Beijing ended its one-child policy after more than three decades.

The population declined by 1.39 million last year, and China lost its position as the world’s most populous country to India in 2023.