This article discusses the declining birth rate in China and the Chinese government’s unsuccessful efforts to increase it. China’s population shrank for the second straight year in 2023, with only 9.02 million babies born compared to 11.1 million deaths. China’s total population declined by 2 million to 1.409 billion. The shrinking and rapidly aging population is concerning to the Chinese government because it reduces the working-age population needed to drive economic growth. It also strains pension and healthcare systems. The one-child policy contributed to the decline by reducing birth rates over decades. It also empowered generations of only-child women through increased education and employment opportunities. These women now resist the government’s calls for them to focus more on marriage and childbearing. Experts say the government’s efforts lack attempts to address deep gender inequality, which shapes women’s views on parenting. Despite laws meant to protect women, gender discrimination and harassment remain widespread. High-profile acts of violence against women also deter marriage and childbearing. Other factors include tighter divorce laws that make it harder for women to leave unhappy marriages, and a 2011 court ruling that favors men in dividing marital property after divorce. Rather than feeling more supported, women believe government policies aimed at increasing marriages and births actually make them more vulnerable to abuse and isolation. In conclusion, top-down government efforts are failing because they ignore the underlying reasons behind women’s reluctance to marry and have children – namely persisting gender inequality and discrimination.
Source:
New York Times
January 16, 2024
China Told Women to Have Babies, but Its Population Shrank Again
Solution: Increase immigration.