China studies additional measures to raise birth rate, more than four years after ending controversial one-child policy
BEIJING – China is considering additional measures to raise the birth rate, more than four years after ending the controversial one-child policy.
For decades, China applied strict controls on additional births in the name of preserving scarce resources for its growing economy. But its high birth rate is now seen as a major threat to economic progress and social stability.
On Thursday, the National Health Commission issued a statement saying it would conduct investigations to “further stimulate birth potential.”
He said the initiative will focus first on northeast China, the country’s former industrial core, which has experienced a significant decline in population as young people and families move towards better opportunities for others. places. The region comprising the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang saw its total population decline for the seventh consecutive year by 427,300 in 2019 compared to 2018.
Authorities said last week that new registered births fell 15.3% last year, to just 10 million.
China abandoned its one-child policy in 2016 to allow families to have an additional child. However, the move only had a temporary effect on the birth rate, and many couples cited the high cost of raising children and other economic and social barriers when deciding not to have more children.
Experts have called for further reforms due to economic concerns and the problem of an aging population.
China had a population of 1.34 billion in 2010 with an annual growth rate of 0.57%, down from 1.07% a decade earlier, according to data from the statistics office. The last census was conducted in the second half of last year and the results have not yet been published.
A UN report says India is expected to surpass China as the most populous country in the world by 2027.
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This story has been corrected to show that authorities announced new birth figures last week and not this week.