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| in China. There is a striking preponderance of reported male births in some | in China. There is a striking preponderance of reported male births in some | ||
| areas of China, however it is believed that this is the result of widespread | areas of China, however it is believed that this is the result of widespread | ||
| underreporting of female births in addition to the illegal practice of sex-selective |
underreporting of female births in addition to the illegal practice of ]s which is possible due to the widespread availablity of | ||
| ]. | ]. | ||
Revision as of 19:50, 31 May 2002
The one child policy refers to a popular name for birth control policy in the People's Republic of China. This name is based on a popular misconception that Chinese birth control required all Chinese to have one child. Although one child was promoted as an ideal, the actual implementation varied from location to location and in most rural areas families were allowed to have two children before fines were imposed, and these fines were often ignored. The fertility rate of China is in fact closer to two children per family than one child per family. Furthermore, the steepest drop in fertility occurred in the 1970's before one child per family began to be encouraged in 1979.
The immediate cause of the birth control policy was the demographic bump of people born in the 1950's and 1960's. In 1949 the population of the PRC was about 400 million. In 1970, the population was 700 million. In the late 1970's, the Chinese leadership was alarmed by the fact that the "demographic bump" would soon begin entering childbearing and so it was decided to encourage family planning for this generation.
Since the mid-1990's there has been considerable relaxation in family planning policies in the People's Republic of China largely due to the fact that the "demographic bump" of people born in the 1960's is now moving out of fertility age.
The one child policy has been cited as the cause of female infanticide in China, however few demographers believe that there is widespread infanticide in China. There is a striking preponderance of reported male births in some areas of China, however it is believed that this is the result of widespread underreporting of female births in addition to the illegal practice of sex-selective abortions which is possible due to the widespread availablity of ultrasound.