China Announces Three-Child Policy, Eases Birth Limit For Married Couples

Beijing: China’s ruling Communist Party has decided to ease the birth limit and allow married couples to have up to three children, a major policy shift in response to the Asian nation’s ageing population, a state news agency said Monday. China, which was largely criticised for its one-child policy, had revised the decision in October 2015, allowing couples to have up to two children.

The announcement follows recent census data that showed a dramatic shrinkage in China’s working-age population over the past decade while the number of people older than 65 increased, adding to the strain on the economy and society.

A meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo Monday decided that China will introduce major policies and measures to actively deal with the ageing population, the Xinhua News Agency said. Party leaders pointed out that further optimizing the fertility policy, implementing the policy of one couple can have three children and supporting measures are conducive to improving China’s population structure, the report said.

China has enforced birth limits since 1980 to restrain population growth but worries the number of working-age people is falling too fast. Restrictions that limited most couples to one child were eased later. But after a brief rise the following year, the number of births has declined again.

source https://www.india.com/news/world/china-announces-three-child-policy-eases-birth-limit-for-married-couples-4704209/