In China, nearly 12 million children "found" in the 2020 census
Nearly 12 million Chinese children, unknown to the authorities, were found in the 2020 census. © Ng Han Guan / AP
Text by: Stéphane Lagarde Follow
2 min
This is the good news from the census of the last census in China.
As statistics show a plunge in birth rates and a decline in marriage, the 1.5 billion empire has found nearly 12 million children, whose existence authorities were unaware of.
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From our correspondent in Beijing,
They are the forgotten ones of the
one-child policy
.
Official statistics have underestimated the number of births between 2000 and 2010 in China by at least 11.6 million.
According to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, 172.5 million babies were born during this period.
During the 2010 decennial census, the state had only counted 160.9 million.
Hidden children
What is this difference related to?
It is very simple, explains a Chinese demographer quoted by the
Bloomberg agency
: these children were quite simply hidden from the census takers.
Because China at the time was still under the one-child policy launched in the 1970s which turned into a tragedy for many households: forced sterilizations,
child abduction
, corruption of officials or children
hidden from view. civil status
.
For years, experts have called for an end to birth control, when the Chinese age pyramid was already starting to have a mushroom head.
This afternoon on @RFI we talked about Beijing's response to Washington, which invited Taipei to the "democracy summit", but also about the 12 million children found during the last census in China.
https://t.co/DWK7dab1Nj 🧶
- Stéphane Lagarde (@StephaneLagarde) November 24, 2021
Reappearance of girls
In an attempt to curb the birth deficit, Chinese family planning relaxed its one-child policy in 2013, and abolished it in 2013, allowing up to two children.
As of this year, it is even possible to
have three
.
These supernumerary children therefore reappeared during the last census.
Before, "
parents did not declare births violating the one-child policy, as long as the child was not in school,
" explains demographer He Yafu.
This is particularly true for girls, who represent 57% of new registrants, with birth registration for boys being preferred, especially in the countryside.
These children come out of the closet of statistics do not compensate for the accelerated aging of the population.
The proportion of people over 65 increased by 13.5% compared to 2010.
►Also read:
Faced with the birth deficit, Beijing allows Chinese couples to have a 3rd child
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China
Demography