Population and Family Planning in China

­It's estimated that there are currently more than 1.3 billion people in China and the population is growing at a rate of 0.6 percent -- by the year 2050, the population is expected to peak around 1.6 billion [source: CNN]. The fertility rate, which is the mean number of children born to one woman, hovers around 1.7 -- about 1.3 in urban areas and estimated just below 2.0 in rural areas. These numbers have dropped from the fertility rate of 2.9 children per woman thirty years ago and are significantly less than the average of six births per woman in 1970 [source: New England Journal of Medicine].

In comparison, other East Asian countries have seen fertility rates declining during the same time period. Japan and Singapore, for example, have some of the lowest fertility rates in the world, at 1.38 births per woman and 1.04 births per woman, respectively [source: New England Journal of Medicine]. Many European countries are also seeing birth rates decline and, in response, are doling out perks -- typically tax breaks and cash -- to encourage couples to increase the number of children they have.

The population reduction in China, though, is not accidental. During the 1970s, China began encouraging the ideas of "late, long, few" -- voluntary family planning by delaying marriage, having fewer children and increasing the number of years between children. In 1979, the government introduced its one-child policy, an aggressive effort to improve standards of living and the economy through population control. Although the government originally planned for a short-term program, the successful prevention of about 400 million births drove China to keep a revised version of the policy in place [source: CNN].

In accordance with the one-child policy, urban couples (about 36 percent of the population) are allowed to have only one child, with exceptions made only for couples who are of ethnic minority or who themselves are only children. In rural areas, couples may apply for legal permission to have a second child if their firstborn is a girl and are allowed three children if they are of an ethnic minority.

Children hold hands as they walk through the ancient city of Pingyao.

Frederick J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Under China's family planning laws, everyone is responsible for practicing family planning and contraceptive methods. Those who follow policy are offered rewards, such as a "Certificate of Honor for Single-Child Parents," loans, social assistance and other assistance depending on their socio-economic status. Couples who delay marriage and children may be eligible for rewards as well, such as longer honeymoon and maternity leaves of absence.

People who don't comply with the one-child policy are subject to penalties including fines (ranging from one-half the local average annual household income to up to ten times that level), confiscation of belongings and administrative sanctions for government employees. "Excess" children may be subjected to educational and health penalties.

To ensure compliance, the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (NPFPC) offers free, universally accessible contraceptive methods. More than 87 percent of married women use contraception, compared to about one third of married women in other developing countries [source: New England Journal of Medicine]. The two most common methods among Chinese women are IUDs and female sterilization [source: National Population and Family Planning Commission of China]. In comparison, vasectomy, birth control pills and condom usage is low, used by less than 10 percent of the population [source: National Population and Family Planning Commission of China]. Reported abortion rates among Chinese women are lower than those among American women; 25 percent of Chinese women have had at least one abortion, whereas 43 percent of American women have undergone such procedure [source: New England Journal of Medicine].

Next, we'll look at the future goals of the NPFPC and the controversy surrounding these population policies.