Today, China remains the most populous country in the world. This is confirmed by data from independent demographic statistics. According to research, every fifth person on the planet is Chinese. It would seem that demographic issues in this country should not be raised. But in practice this is not so. The government must decide on the social security of its citizens, and given their number, this is not so simple. In this regard, China has seriously engaged in fertility planning.
The numerical characteristic of China
Everyone knows that the Chinese are the largest nation on Earth. However, the exact figure is difficult to name. Official data on the PRC claim that the population of China is more than one and a half billion citizens. But is it really so, no one can say, since a complete population census has never been conducted here.
Initially, it was decided to conduct this process in each yard. In the past, people were considered to have absorbed salt per household or given postal transfers. Since then, China’s demographic policy has changed. About what this led to, and learn further.
After the fall of the Empire, the population corresponded only four times:
- in 1953, China had a population of 588 million;
- in 1964 - 705 million people;
- in 1982 - one billion people;
- in 1990 - 1.13 billion people.
Distinctive features of China
Not all territories are populated in China. Due to the diverse climatic zones and the multifaceted Chinese nature, overpopulated and desert areas appeared.
Mostly people settled on the plains, near the sea. The population prefers to have constant access to water, and therefore, to settle in those places where there are streams or rivers. China's economy is still heavily dependent on agriculture. Therefore, the state continues to promote the creation of farms and public fields. And this is possible only on fertile soils.
The main activities of the peasants were fishing and rice cultivation. Both that and another matter require active interaction with water resources. So the deltas of the main rivers of Pearl River and Yangtze River are even crowded. The south of the Great Plains of China and the Sichuan Depression have also become locations for megacities. The number of China in these places exceeds one billion people.
But where mountains are spread, cities and villages are extremely rare. Often the land in the highlands is allocated for the cultivation of plants suitable for the terrain itself.
Gender composition
The Republic of China has long pursued a policy of only having one child in a family. Preference was given to boys. In order to reduce the birth rate, fines imposed by Chinese laws were imposed on a family with more children than allowed.
As for the sex ratio, today 51.6% of the population are men. Moreover, this figure is increasing from year to year. But China’s demographic policy has not always been so harsh.
Economic justification
The Republic of China is considered one of the most actively developing countries. It is characterized by the processes of the formation of the economy, a change in the political course and the transition to high-tech production processes. The main task in this situation, according to the decision of the authorities, is to limit the birth rate. What is the reason? The answer is simple: the Chinese economy is simply not able to feed so many citizens.
That is why since the mid-sixties of the last century, the PRC has been restricting population growth by introducing bans on the number of children in one family.
At first, you could have three offspring. But over time, the law limited the rules to two. And a little later, families with one baby became relevant.
Demographic Ads
On the streets of China you can find such advertising signs as “One child is care for the future” or “Give birth to one” and the like.
The government thought about actively introducing a program for planning a future family. The Chinese are given an example of the fact that people with only one child can afford to provide him with a decent future, dress him, put on shoes, and give him what he deserves.
Such campaigning in cities with a large number of residents had a positive effect. Couples try to limit themselves in the number of children. Authorities encourage law-abiding citizens.
Those with just one baby are given certain benefits. So, they can get housing in the first place, arrange a child for free in a kindergarten, give him an education at the best university. Children from the countryside are given large plots of land.
Such a demographic policy in China has brought positive results. The population growth was stopped. However, famine also contributed to this factor.
The first reforms carried out by Mao Zedong caused an unprecedented economic downturn, and as a result, over the course of three years, from 1959 to 1961, according to various estimates, about 16, 000, 000 people died.
Large families
The decline in population during the Great Chinese Famine bore fruit. Now China’s demographic policy is aimed only at preventing spontaneous population growth. In the Republic of China, a couple who has two children must refuse the bonus received for one child and reimburse everything that the state paid them earlier. Also, this family will be fined additionally. They will be required to pay an amount that, depending on the salary and place of residence, will range from a couple of hundred to a couple thousand Chinese yuan.
Late wedding
The country's authorities are convinced that the most deliberate marriage is that of mature age. In the PRC, the bar for the permitted time of marriage was raised. So, girls can tie the knot of Hymen from only twenty years old. Guys are allowed to marry only after reaching the age of 22.
However, those young people who are still in college cannot marry. The administration often excludes such students for such a rash act. But, despite this, in recent years, boys and girls more often think about a wedding at a young age. An ancient custom is once again becoming popular. The characterization of China would be incomplete if we did not dwell on this point in more detail.
Features of marriage traditions
Traditions continue to play an important role in the life of this nation. Despite all the efforts of modern politicians to make the state updated, medieval villages are still preserved in some villages and settlements.
Even in the capital of China, Beijing, until recently, the parents of the bride and groom agreed to marry. It was mother and father who chose a suitable partner for life for their child. To refuse the candidate agreed upon at the council of senior relatives meant to reject the whole family.
But recently, the situation has begun to change. Girls and boys themselves prefer to find a mate. Moreover, representatives of the beautiful half of humanity often occupy a leading position in this process.
As for divorces, the statistics in China are small. In Western countries, dissolve a marriage ten times more often. Nevertheless, in the Middle Kingdom they are thinking about a problem with an increased number of divorces.
The territory of China is quite extensive. Many different ethnic groups live here. For them, completely different rules apply. They can have as many children as they like. They are not subject to benefits. In addition, since the territory of China is quite extensive, many indigenous people tend to move from large cities to more quiet and less populated regions. Therefore, there is a pronounced migration of the population within the country.
Society problems. China's demographic policy briefly
Due to the policy of reducing the population, the Chinese in the modern world have begun to suffer from the problems caused by such a policy. Thus, the population does not have the proper balance between the born and the dying generation. As a result, in the People's Republic of China the number of retirees is significantly higher than the number of youth.
In 2000, according to official estimates of social institutions, it turned out that on average, residents live 71 years. More than ninety million Chinese have already reached the age threshold of 65 years. There are 7% of them in the country.
Now the state is trying to draw the attention of all citizens to the fact that the problem of the older generation is only increasing. It exists, and so far no one has the power to resolve it. Very soon, the country's losses in the payment of pensions, material support, and the issuance of free medicines to old people will exceed the earnings of young Chinese who go to the treasury.
On the other hand, China’s policy aims to reduce the population even further in the next 20 years. According to experts, the PRC will soon overtake other countries in all social indicators.
Children problem
However, most believe that China's future is in jeopardy. Replaced by combat, open to any task children from large families came pampered loners who can not even cope with elementary tasks.
Having grown up as their only favorite parent, the Chinese continue to use the care of their elders on the most insignificant issues. In some of them, selfishness is too strong to do the right thing, to make some sacrifices for the good of the nation and think about someone other than yourself. Traditions that would teach how to raise one child have not yet been developed in China.
The press is full of headlines about how children dare to act too selfishly, which can usually shock people from other countries. Moms and fathers pamper their children, helping to brush their teeth, tie their shoelaces, take a shower for up to ten years. As a result, they cannot even dress without help.
Parents become hyper-caring. They plan the whole life of their child. Often, without asking for the views of their son or daughter, they are given to study in those specialties that are highly valued in China. This does not take into account the level of abilities of the future student, his hobby, and a penchant for the subject.
Parents try to arrange a child in life. According to traditional Chinese families, the boy brings happiness to the house, and with the birth of the girl it ends. A man can usually stay with his parents, while a woman goes to her husband’s house. The village family also tries to give birth to a boy so that he helps more on the field.
All this makes politicians think seriously. The territory of China is far from fully developed. There is a need to populate desert regions. It is possible that in the near future this fact will be an occasion for a local change in demographic policy.
