China Period 6

Bryce and Nina's China presentation China is a country in East Asia, surrounded by many bodies of water as well as Vietnam and North Korea. Approximately the size of the United States, China currently has a much larger population of around 1,338,612,900. Though China still has a very large population, it was estimated that there would have been 300 to 400 million more people without China’s one child policy. The policy was created and put into action in 1979 by the Chinese government to decrease the population. The policy limits each family to only one child. Exceptions are made to rural couples that need more people to work on the farm, to ethnic minorities, and to parents who are only kids themselves. Payments are required if you wish to have another child. The country uses monetary incentives to make people follow the law, and those who do not must pay fines and pay for the education and healthcare of all additional children. The country also educates people through family planning commissions about the problems of overpopulation. While 76% of the population is said to be in support of the policy, there is still much criticism. Many believe restricting the amount of children a person can have is a violation of human rights. Also, since most families in China wish to have boys for cultural and economic reasons, the policy has also resulted in a gender imbalance with many girls being aborted or put up for adoption. The policy is, however, achieving its goal to a certain extent. The total fertility rate of the country has gone from over 5 in the early 1970’s to a current 1.8. While the population is still growing by .655% because people are living longer, the policy has helped prevent the population from growing at an even larger rate. “China.” CIA World Factbook. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ ch.htm>. “One-child policy.” Wikipedia. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .