China’s declining birth rate is continuing to pose challenges as the issue of declining birth rates is now impacting the education sector, with kindergartens being hit particularly hard. According to the latest official data, nearly 220,000 full-time kindergarten teachers in China were reduced last year, a decrease of around 7.7% compared to 2024. Many teacher training colleges have stopped enrolling or even discontinued departments related to early childhood education, opting instead to train personnel for elderly care services.
Recently, the National Education Development Statistics Bulletin for 2025 released by the Chinese Ministry of Education revealed that there were a total of 2.61 million full-time kindergarten teachers nationwide, a decrease from 2.83 million in 2024. This indicates a reduction of 219,300 full-time kindergarten teachers in China last year.
This change is directly related to the declining birth rate in China. Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Chinese Communist Party showed that the total number of births in 2025 was 7.92 million, a decrease of 1.62 million from 9.54 million in 2024, with a natural population growth rate of -2.41‰.
The changes in the birth rate will gradually impact childcare, kindergartens, primary schools, and other educational stages. Therefore, the decrease in the source of kindergarten students is not just a short-term market fluctuation but a result of the beginning concentration of changes in population structure.
According to a recent report by “First Financial,” the demographic shift is also significantly impacting teacher training colleges that mainly focus on cultivating early childhood education teachers and departments related to early childhood education.
For example, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts ceased enrollment in art education and early childhood education majors in 2025. Shanxi University of Science and Technology announced in 2025 that it planned to abolish six departments including early childhood education.
The Ministry of Education data shows that in 2025, there were 231,900 kindergartens nationwide, a decrease of 21,400 from 253,300 in 2024; the number of children enrolled in kindergartens decreased from 35.84 million to 32.26 million, a decrease of 3.58 million in a year.
In other words, in 2025, it is not only that there are fewer teachers, but kindergartens and students are also decreasing simultaneously.
The scale of early childhood education teachers has also continued to shrink. In 2022, the total number of full-time early childhood education teachers nationwide reached a peak of 3.244 million; by 2025, it had decreased to 2.612 million, a decrease of 631,600 over three years, nearly a fifth.
The number of children enrolled in kindergartens is also decreasing. In 2025, there were 3.5847 million fewer children enrolled in kindergartens compared to 2024, marking the fifth consecutive year of decrease.
“First Financial” reported that many teacher training colleges that focus on cultivating early childhood education teachers are accelerating their transformation and adjustment. For instance, Henan Zhumadian Higher Specialized College of Early Childhood Teachers plans to apply for eight new departments in 2026, such as drone technology applications and intelligent robot technology. Hunan Hengyang Higher Specialized College of Early Childhood Teachers is transitioning to a college focusing on vocational and technical subjects.
With Chinese society aging, some teacher training colleges are beginning to shift their focus to elderly care services. For example, Guangzhou Higher Specialized College of Early Childhood Teachers added two new departments in 2025: stage art design and production and smart health and elderly care service management. Hunan Loudi Higher Specialized College of Early Childhood Teachers opened a department specializing in smart health and elderly care service management.
This transformation is related to the changes in China’s population structure: the child population continues to decline while the elderly population keeps increasing.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the Chinese Communist Party shows that by the end of 2025, the population aged 60 and above in China reached 323 million, accounting for 23% of the total population; of those, the population aged 65 and above reached 224 million, accounting for 15.9%.
For many years, the Chinese Communist Party has significantly expanded early childhood education resources, and teacher training colleges have produced a large number of early childhood education professionals. However, with the declining birth rate, this talent supply system is beginning to face structural adjustments.
For kindergartens, the decrease in student intake means fewer classes, potential mergers, or closures of kindergartens, leading to a reduced demand for teachers. On the university side, the enrollment scale for early childhood education majors and employment opportunities for graduates are decreasing simultaneously.
As the impact of the declining birth rate continues to transmit to primary schools, middle schools, and even higher education levels, the effects will not only be seen in kindergarten teachers but will also extend to the professional settings of teacher training colleges, teacher training scales, and the overall allocation of educational resources.