年我國出生人口下降因爲是羊年?

The Year of the Goat is the cause for a slight decline in the number of newborns in 2015 over previous year, said nation's top health authority.

據國家最高衛生局表示，與2014年相比，2015年全國新生人口數量略有下降，一個可能的原因是因爲2015年是羊年。

China had 16.55 million babies born last year, 320,000 fewer than 2014, the Year of the Horse, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

國家統計局數據顯示，去年共有1655萬新生兒出生，與2014年馬年相比減少了32萬新生人口。

China began to allow couples with one side being an only child to have a second child in late 2013, which made 11 million couples eligible. Experts expected back then the policy would bring one million more babies compared with 2014.

2013年年底，中國開始允許夫妻雙方中一方是獨生子女的家庭生育二胎，共計1100萬對夫妻符合該條件。當時專家預計，與2014年相比，該政策將增加100萬新生人口。

Facing the slight decrease last year, some said the policy change could hardly reverse a downward trend of the population.

鑑於去年人口出生率下降，有人認爲政策變化還是很難扭轉人口減少的趨勢。

The National Health and Family Planning Commission, in response, rejected that view in an online statement issued on Wednesday. The decline is due to the Year of the Goat and the decreasing women of childbearing age, it said.

週三，國家衛計委在網上發佈聲明迴應，反駁了這一觀點。該聲明表示，出生率下降是由於受羊年的影響，以及生育年齡的女性數量正在減少。

There is an old Chinese saying "shi yang jiu bu quan", that means nine out of 10 people born in the Year of the Goat are unlucky and will suffer from great misfortune throughout their life.

中國古諺中有“十羊九不全”的說法，意思是說羊年出生的十人中有九人命不好，一生都會命途多舛。

After that the Year of the Goat, China is expected to welcome 17.5 to 21 million newborns annually in five years, it projected.

該聲明同時預測，羊年過後的5年內，中國有望每年迎來1750萬至2100萬名新生兒的降臨。