After recent data indicated a steep fall in births in the world's most populous country, China announced that married couples may have up to three children, a huge policy move from the existing limit of two. According to the official news agency Xinhua, the adjustment was accepted during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping. The official announcement has been made official on Monday.
It is pertinent to note that in 2016, China replaced its one-child policy with a two-child limit. However, the policy failed to give the desired birth rates since the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities discouraged many couples from starting families. Hence, "To further optimize the birth policy, (China) will implement a one-married-couple-can-have-three-children policy," the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency wrote.
The news agency further highlighted, "supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country's population structure, fulfilling the country's strategy of actively coping with an aging population and maintaining the advantage, endowment of human resources."
The census, which was issued earlier this month, revealed that roughly 12 million babies were born last year, down from 18 million in 2016 and the lowest number of births since the 1960s. In late 2020, the census was undertaken, with seven million census takers going door to door to collect data from households.
China's old one-child policy
The one-child policy, which was implemented in 1979 to curb population growth, has had a significant impact on China's demographic trends through the years. Families that broke the regulations faced fines, job loss, and, in some cases, forced abortions. The country's gender imbalance was exacerbated by the one-child policy. Because of the customary preference for male children, many girls have been abandoned or placed in orphanages, and there have been reports of sex-selective abortions and even female infanticide.
