China has officially ended its one child per family rule and allowed married couples to have two children. The change in the policy is a result of the country’s ageing population and decreasing workforce. The new regulations took effect on 1
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January, 2016. The One Child rule was originally enacted in 1970, and restricted married couples from having more than one child. Penalties included fines and forced abortions.
The rule however, had a few exceptions. It allowed couples from rural areas to have two children if the first born was a girl. This was termed as “one and a half child” policy.
Experts from the National Health and family Planning Commission have estimated that around 3 million additional babies will be born each year and will add to a total of around 30 million people to China’s workforce by the year 2050. Experts have predict that the change will not be of much help to China’s population crisis.
A professor affiliated with the Chongyang Institute for Financial studies at Renmin University, Beijing comments on the new policy, “more children will mean more maternity homes, hospitals, schools, etc. it will certainly result in a major investment in such areas”. The two children per family rule will also increase spending of those families which opt for two children, which may have some effect to boost the slowing economy of China.