Transcript Population Policies - geo

Population Policies
This map shows the proportion of the world's total births for each territory.
133,121,000 babies were born in the year 2000. In countries
with the fewest births per person, more people are dying than
are being born. As with all population statistics, even this vital
one, figures are rough estimates.More children are born each
year in Africa than are born in the Americas, all of Europe and
Japan put together. Worldwide, more than a third of a million
new people will be born on your birthday this year.
Anti-natalist
Policies that discourage births and try to
slow population growth.
Pro-natalist
Policies that encourage more births.
3 types of pro-natalist policies
Regulatory approach
Where governments impose regulations
and restrictions that control the number
of births.
Incentives
Governments offer things like prizes or
money to families that limit the number
of children they have.
Raise people´s standards of living
In the hope that this will result in
reduced populations.
China
One Child Policy
China
China has the world´s largest population.
China: Demographic Transition
Niu Yi Qiao, Barcelona, February 27th 2005
During the past 50 years, China has experienced demographic change at
an historic scale. This has had a profound impact upon its population
structure. This article by Barcelona-based Chinese student Niu Yi Qiao
outlines the causes and impacts of the change.
Pre-1949:
China had experienced a century of imperial
decline, natural disasters, foreign invasion and
civil unrest. Life expectancy was as low as 36
years. The communists took over in 1949 after
the civil war and began to modernize China.
1949 – 1958:
The communists shifted their attention to
economic development and together with a rich
resource base there was a 10% annual growth
rate in the economy. A very successful
healthcare program and better nutrition brought
a marked fall in the death rate, especially in
infant mortality. Most of the population was still
rural and people’s minds were still dominated by
the traditional view: more children to work the
land, more children as a guarantee for security
in old age. The birth rate was high and
consequently the natural increase was rapid.
1949 - 1958:
The communists shifted their attention to
economic development and together with a rich
resource base there was a 10% annual growth
rate in the economy. A very successful
healthcare program and better nutrition brought
a marked fall in the death rate, especially in
infant mortality. Most of the population was still
rural and peopleﾕs minds were still dominated by
the traditional view: more children to work the
land, more children as a guarantee for security
in old age. The birth rate was high and
consequently the natural increase was rapid.
1958 - 1963:
The communist leader Mao (who was a very
successful politician and general, but not a great
economic planner) was impatient with the rate
of progress. What followed was the 'Great Leap
Forward' policy, a forced industrialization during
which millions of peasants were made to leave
the land to work in factories. The slogan at the
time was 'overtake the British, race the
Americans'. The political mismanagement and
low agricultural production (there was a
shortage for farmers) led to widespread famine
and caused 25-30 million deaths, and a 30-35%
fall in the birth rate. The death rate rose higher
than the birth rate and the population
experienced 5 years of natural decrease.
1962 - 1980:
The 'demographic disaster' of the Great Leap
Forward was followed by a baby boom in the
mid-1960s and the economy began to recover.
The introduction of private enterprise raised the
level of food production. Throughout the 1970s
politicians sought to bring about a drastic
reduction in family size as they realised that a
huge population threatened to outgrow the
available resources. What emerged was the 'one
child policy', which has been very successful in
reducing birth rates. The implementation of the
policy was harsh and there were strict penalties:
the 'Granny Police' watched over couples of
childbearing age, and if a couple had more than
one child, both parents would lose their jobs.
The local government would issue a fine large
enough to bankrupt the family and worse, the
'illegal' child would not be given a 'household
register' which was necessary for school
enrolment and applying for jobs. Usually, a
married couple would fulfil the policy out of fear
alone, although due to industrialisation and
improved education, people were becoming
more receptive to new ideas. Contraception was
widely practiced throughout China in order to
reduce pregnancies and widen the spacing
between births. A steady reduction in the birth
rate resulted.
1980 - 1990:
Economic growth slowed due to inflation and a
trade imbalance. Due to the success of the rigid
one child policy, birth rates continued to
decrease although in 1984 there was a slight
rise.
1990 - Today:
China is now a 'post-transitional' society, where life
expectancy has reached new heights, fertility has declined
to below-replacement level, and rapid population ageing is
on the horizon. In the not-too-distant future, in a matter
of a few decades, Chinas population will start to shrink. In
this process, China will also lose its position as the most
populous country in the world to India. The 'one child
policy' has recently been relaxed to a 'two child policy' in
many districts in order to avoid the problems an ageing
population could bring.
This has additional implications: it is usually the rural
villages that have established the 'two child policy',
meaning that in the future Chinas population may be
dominated by undereducated peasants (who already
comprise 70% of the population). In the more advanced
cities, it is not only the local government policy that
maintains low birthrates, but the change in peoples
mentality. Most Chinese women have their own career and
are unwilling to sacrifice their job for children. The
expense of raising a child has also been taken into
consideration by new couples. It is likely the Chinese
government will soon consider a 'three child policy' to
force couples into having more babies in order to maintain
a low-cost workforce.
What exactly is China's Population?
The one child policy has avoided the birth of 400 million
people in three decades, according to the Chinese
government, although, in fact, it applies to only 36% of
the population and in the countryside many babies are not
registered. Therefore, according to different institutions,
the Chinese population in 2007 is in fact 1,600 million and
not 1,300 as is officially announced. The government
announced in April 2007 that the Chinese population will
be less than 1,360 million in 2010 and 1,450 million in
2020.
China warns of population growth
China's top family planning body has warned of a "population
rebound" as couples flout one child policy rules.
The widening wealth gap could lead to a rise in birth rates,
Zhang Weiqing, from the National Population and Family
Planning Commission, told state media. Newly rich couples
can afford to pay fines to have more than one child, while
rural couples are marrying earlier, he told Xinhua news
agency. China has about 1.3 billion people, 20% of the
world's total.It is keen to curb its population growth, and
the controversial family planning policy, implemented in
the late 1970s, is meant to limit urban couples to one child
and rural families to two.
But rising incomes mean that some newly rich couples in
urban areas can easily afford to break the rules and pay
the resulting fines. In fact, last month, a survey by the
National Population and Family Planning Commission found
that the number of rich people and celebrities having more
than one child was on a rapid increase, and nearly 10% of
people in this category had three children.
Rural trends
In the countryside, too, the rules are being flouted. China's
constitution says that men may marry at 22 and women at
20, with late marriages and later childbearing encouraged.
But according to Mr Zhang, "early marriages are still
prevailing in some parts of the country, especially in rural
areas, which goes against the family planning policy". Part
of the reason why rural families refuse to comply is
because of the traditional preference for sons. Experts say
this preference has led to the under-reporting of female
births, as well as abortion of female foetuses and female
infanticide. By the end of 2006, China's population stood
at 1,314,480,000, according to the National Bureau of
Statistics, with males accounting for 51.5% of the
population.