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The results of China\\u2019s once-a-decade census, released in May after a one-month delay, showed that the population of mainland China grew at an average rate of 0.53 percent each year between 2010 and 2020.\\xa0The official results contradicted an earlier report by the Financial Times, which indicated the census figures would actually show a population decline.

What is certain, though, is that the combination of higher life expectancies and lower fertility rates poses a huge challenge for East Asia\\u2019s largest economy, and for other major economies in the region as well. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore all have population growth rates that are in negative territory or will be in the coming years. It\\u2019s an issue with global implications, given the important role that these countries play in the world economy.

This week on Trend Lines, Ronald D. Lee, a demographer and economist at the University of California, Berkeley, joins WPR\\u2019s Elliot Waldman to talk about how East Asia is coping with its major demographic changes.

If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you\\u2019ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe.

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• Women and the Demography-Security Nexus

Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter D\\xf6rrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie.

To send feedback or questions, email us at podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com.