13.1.5

Population Control

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Population Control

Populations can be managed in different ways. China limited their population using the One Child Policy to ensure there were enough resources for everyone.

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China background

  • The Chinese government used to encourage big families with the ambition of creating a huge military force.
    • This led to families having an average of 5 children.
  • During the mid-1970s there were problems with famine. Lots of people were struggling to find enough food or water to survive so the action had to be taken.
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One Child Policy

  • The government introduced the One Child Policy in 1979, limiting families to one child only.
  • The fines for breaking the law were huge and many families could not afford to pay them. Families would also lose benefits such as the right to being a Chinese citizen and the right to free education and healthcare.
  • The policy has been relaxed since it began, to allow families in rural areas to have more than one child.
  • In 2015 the One Child Policy was relaxed so all families can have 2 children.
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Impacts of the Policy

  • The One Child Policy is said to have prevented 400 million births.
  • The fertility rate in China dropped from roughly 5.7 in 1965 to 1.5 in 2011.
  • The policy led to hundreds of baby girls being aborted or killed, due to a preference for boys.
  • Now there is a huge gender imbalance with 125 boys to every 100 girls.
    • This has led to lots of single or unmarried men in China today.
  • China now has an ageing population which is creating huge problems due to the small number of working age people.

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