Population Control
Geography: KS3, topic 13.1.5
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.
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.
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.
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.
Test yourself on Population Control
Why was the One Child Policy introduced in 1979?
What was NOT a consequence of breaking the One Child Policy laws?