Arthur Greene
In a history-making policy change, China has announced that it will allow couples to have three children, shifting from the two that were previously permitted.
The move aims to tackle the country’s “ageing problem,” following recent data that showed a dramatic decline in births in the past few years.
Until 2015, China had enforced the infamous one-child policy to prevent a population explosion. The law was imposed in 1980 and has generated fierce controversy ever since.
A system of fines were put in place for those who broke the law, while many were also forced to have abortions.
In 2015, the policy shifted to allowing couples to have two children.
But the country’s birth-rate has continued to drop year upon year.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 12 million babies were born in China in 2020. This is 2.65 million fewer than the total born the year before, in 2019.
The country’s fertility rate currently stands at 1,3, meaning that the average woman in China has just over one child in her lifetime. This is well below the level needed to maintain a stable population.
Experts have predicted that if their population continues to drop at such a dramatic rate, Nigeria’s population will overtake China’s by the year 2100.
The study, published last year in the Lancet medical journal, predicts that the world population will peak in 2064, and steadily decrease thereafter.
According to the study, the five countries with the largest population by 2100 will be:
- India with 1.09 billion
- Nigeria with 791 million
- China with 732 million
- The U.S. with 336 million
- Pakistan with 248 million
Considering China’s population peaked this decade at 1.4 billion, this is a startling decrease of almost 50%.
