China's Population Policy

With a population officially just over 1,3 billion and an estimated growth rate of about 0,6%, China is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict birth limitation policy. China's 2002 Population and Family Planning Law and policy permit one child per family, with allowance for a second child under certain circumstances, especially in rural areas, and with guidelines looser for ethnic minorities with small populations. Enforcement varies, and relies largely on 'social compensation fees' to discourage extra births. Official government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization, but in some localities there are instances of forced abortion. The government's goal is to stabilize the population in the first half of the 21st century, and current projections are that the population will peak at around 1,6 billion by 2050. A logical consequence is that there are more boys born than girls because only the boy can continue the bloodline of the family. If the first child will be a girl it sometimes leads in to an abortion. That's the reason that there are more boys than girls in China.