Five years ago, the Chinese leadership abandoned the ban on more children in one family and childbearing took off. But now figures show a drastic decline. The birth rate in China was 10.48 per thousand inhabitants in 2019, according to official figures.

Many people in China do not consider themselves able to provide more children. At the same time, the number of old ones is increasing, and the economy broadly indicates a slowdown in growth. Chinese growth of 6.1 percent in 2019 is weaker than last year's 6.6 percent, but still higher than in many countries.

Imbalance

The one-child policy was introduced in 1979 and led not only to fewer births but also to an imbalance in gender distribution. The strict rule with one child per family resulted in many aborting their girl fetuses. Over the next ten years, women between the ages of 25 and 30 are expected to decline by 40 percent.

Those who broke the ban on more children could expect fines, get rid of work and sometimes even be forced into abortions. Some managed to circumvent the ban by not registering their infants or hiding them. The official figures are therefore uncertain.

At that time, the life expectancy was 66 years. Now, in general, the Chinese live ten years longer and society's costs for the many elderly have increased.

Spoiled children

As SVT News recently reported on, many young people grow up as spoiled "little emperors". They tend to get married late or not at all and invest in their own careers. There are also large income disparities, which means that many cannot afford to pay for childcare and education for their children.

Among the measures being discussed to encourage childbirth are tax relief, extended parental leave and even financial grants.