Geography Edexcel Igcse Case Study: China's One Child Policy Essay Example
• In 1970, China’s population of 830 million increased by 2.6%. To reduce this high rate of population growth, the Chinese government introduced ‘voluntary’ schemes, such as:
State-run family planning programmes.
State-sponsored advertising campaigns with the slogan ‘later, longer, fewer’, meaning marrying later, having longer gaps between babies, and fewer children.
• These schemes caused the birth rate to start falling. However, in 1979, the ‘one-child’ policy was introduced, meaning that couples who had more than one child would be penalised. Sometimes they would be sterilised or forced to have an abortion.
• If couples kept to having one child, they were given rewards, such as:
Cash bonuses.
Better childcare.
Better/priority housing.
Free education.
Pension and family benefits.
• The government helped couples keep to having only one child by offering free contraception and free abortions.
• In 1987, they relaxed some of the conditions of the policy, mainly in rural areas. Under strict conditions, rural people were allowed to have a second child, and minority groups in China were made exempt from the policy.
• Between 1970 and 2008:
The birth rate fell from 34 per 1000 to 13 per 1000.
The growth rate fell from 24 per 1000 to 0.6 per 1000.
However, the population grew from 830 million to 1320 million, making China’s population account for 20% of the world’s population.
• The policy has been much more effective in urban areas than in rural areas. In cities, it is much more difficult to find living space for a family of 3, and it is expensive to raise a child there. In rural areas, however, families need children to help out on the farm.
• So, in 2001, couples in rural areas were allowed to have a second child if the first one was a girl.
• The one-child policy has been very successful. It has slowed down population growth in China massively. It also greatly increased economic development, because people with only one child had
State-run family planning programmes.
State-sponsored advertising campaigns with the slogan ‘later, longer, fewer’, meaning marrying later, having longer gaps between babies, and fewer children.
• These schemes caused the birth rate to start falling. However, in 1979, the ‘one-child’ policy was introduced, meaning that couples who had more than one child would be penalised. Sometimes they would be sterilised or forced to have an abortion.
• If couples kept to having one child, they were given rewards, such as:
Cash bonuses.
Better childcare.
Better/priority housing.
Free education.
Pension and family benefits.
• The government helped couples keep to having only one child by offering free contraception and free abortions.
• In 1987, they relaxed some of the conditions of the policy, mainly in rural areas. Under strict conditions, rural people were allowed to have a second child, and minority groups in China were made exempt from the policy.
• Between 1970 and 2008:
The birth rate fell from 34 per 1000 to 13 per 1000.
The growth rate fell from 24 per 1000 to 0.6 per 1000.
However, the population grew from 830 million to 1320 million, making China’s population account for 20% of the world’s population.
• The policy has been much more effective in urban areas than in rural areas. In cities, it is much more difficult to find living space for a family of 3, and it is expensive to raise a child there. In rural areas, however, families need children to help out on the farm.
• So, in 2001, couples in rural areas were allowed to have a second child if the first one was a girl.
• The one-child policy has been very successful. It has slowed down population growth in China massively. It also greatly increased economic development, because people with only one child had