China sees fewer births and loses workers as its 1.4 billion people age

A woman plays with a child near elderly people in wheelchairs in Beijing (Andy Wong/AP)

The number of working-age people in China fell over the past decade as its ageing population barely grew, a census showed on Tuesday.

The total population rose to 1.411 billion people last year, up 72 million from 2010, according to the once-a-decade census. Weak growth fell closer to zero as fewer couples had children.