One-Child Policy Britannica Online

One-Child Policy

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, China started a program called the one-child policy. The government wanted most families in China to have only one child. They did this to slow down how fast China's population was growing. In 2015, they said the policy would end in 2016.

How the One-Child Policy Started:

After China became the People's Republic in 1949, they tried to get people to use birth control, but it wasn't a big focus until after Mao Zedong died in 1976. By the late 1970s, China was close to having one billion people, and the new leaders, including Deng Xiaoping, thought it was important to slow down the population growth. At first, they suggested families have no more than two kids, but soon they started pushing for just one child per family. This rule was not the same everywhere at first, but by 1980, the government wanted the whole country to follow it.

The rules said most families should only have one child, but there were some exceptions. For example, certain minority groups or families with a disabled first child could have more than one child. The policy was stricter in cities than in rural areas. The government used different ways to make sure people followed the policy, like giving out birth control, rewarding families who followed the rule, and punishing those who didn't.

The policy worked to lower the birth rate in China. However, it also meant there were fewer young people to help take care of older people.

What Happened Because of the Policy:

The one-child policy led to more boys being born than girls because many families preferred to have a son. Some families even ended pregnancies if they found out they were having a girl, or they gave up their daughters. This created a problem with more men than women of marrying age.

Another issue was that there were more older people and fewer young people to support them. There were also children who were born but not officially recorded, making it hard for them to go to school or get jobs.

Over time, the government made some changes to the policy, allowing some families to have more than one child.

Ending the One-Child Policy:

In 2015, China said it would stop the one-child policy, and starting in 2016, families could have two children. However, not many families chose to have a second child. They were worried about the cost, childcare, and how it would affect their jobs.

In 2021, the Chinese government said families could have up to three children and promised to help with things like childcare and jobs to encourage more births. This change was to help with problems caused by having too many older people and not enough young people working.