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China revises upward population data for past 10 years

Sampling errors led to underestimates in number of births, authorities say

BEIJING -- The National Bureau of Statistics of China has revised its figures for past 10 years to note that the country's population surpassed 1.4 billion in 2017, two years earlier than previously thought. 

The recalculations were made based on the 2020 census, which found there was an "an error in the sampling for 2011 through 2019" and resulted in upward revisions for the population each year. China's leadership under President Xi Jinping has become increasingly anxious about the country's declining birthrate and aging population, but doubts persist about the accuracy of the data used by policymakers.

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