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Fact-check: Is China missing a billion people?

We investigate viral claims that the population of China is really only 500 million.

A viral video circulating online claims the population of China is actually a billion people lower than the UN and China say.

A billion is big number, you'd think the Chinese would notice if that many were missing - and the claim is certainly false.

However, as the team dug into the stats, a strange story emerged - which suggests the official data on births and fertility may not be quite as reliable as you might think.

We spoke to demographer Professor Sabu Padmadas from the University of Southampton to find out more.

If you spot a story you'd like us to dig into contact us at moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Lizzy McNeill
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Mix: James Beard

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9 minutes

Last on

Sun 11 Oct 202611:50
BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa

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Broadcasts

  • Sat 10 Oct 202605:50
    BBC World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, East Asia & South Asia
  • Sun 11 Oct 202600:50
    BBC World Service Australasia
  • Sun 11 Oct 202605:50
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia & East Asia only
  • Sun 11 Oct 202609:50
    BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa only
  • Sun 11 Oct 202611:50
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa

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