Has the One Child Policy in China successfully accomplished what it set out to achieve?
YES
Reducing the population
It has stopped the birth of at least 400 million childrenfrom about 1979 to 2011
POSTIVES
Prevents over-population
Fair-share of jobs
Chinese government officials have also stated, "compared with
the world's other developing countries with large populations, we
have realised this transformation half a century ahead of time." -
BBC
Has aided the reduction of government expenditure on health and housing
Greater enrichment of families
More oppurtunities
More money to spend on enrichment rather than healthcare and housing
Lower the fertility rate
The fertility rate in China fell from 2.63
births per woman in 1980 to 1.61 in 2009
Poverty eradication
In China’s poor areas, economic and cultural backwardness and too many births often
interact as both cause and effect. The Chinese government alleviated poverty by
promoting family planning, holding population growth under control, and raising the life
quality of the population in those areas.
NO
Ageing population
EG: 1/4 of people in Shanghai are over 60 years of age
4-2-1 problem
negative population growth
Little Emperor Syndrome
Child obesity levels increased
CIA " 8% of 10-12 year old in cities in China are obese"
Abortion & Sterilisation
Horror stories: Baby 59
Increase in suicide rate
7th in the world for highest suicide rates
'Gendercide'
Men outweigh women by 60million in China
Growing gap between rural and urban China
Rich are able to pay the fines or cheat the system - eg go to hong kong to have baby
What did it set out to do in 1979?
At the time, China was home to a quarter of the
world's people, who were occupying just 7% of
world's arable land.
2/3 of the population were
under the age of 30 years, and
the baby boomers of the
50's-60's were entering their
reproductive years
The government saw strict population
containment as essential to economic
reform and to an improvement in living
standards
The aim was to reduce poverty and to improve overall quality of life for the people.