logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
18m 36s

China's birth rate problem

Bbc World Service
About this episode

After decades of restrictions, China's leaders want women to have more children. But will a 'three-child' policy prevent a decline in China's population?

Ed Butler speaks to Professor Stein Emil Vollset from the University of Washington School of Medicine about the dramatic population declines expected in many countries including China. China demographics expert Yong Cai explains why the declining birth rate will be difficult to reverse. And author and journalist Mei Fong tells us why the one-child policy of the past will make it even harder for Chinese authorities to promote larger families in the future.

(Photo: A nurse holding a baby at an infant care centre in Yongquan, in Chongqing municipality, in southwest China; Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Yesterday
Is Gen Z the most investment-savvy generation?
Generation Z - people born in the mid-to-late 1990s up to the early 2010s - is reportedly the new driving force behind retail investing. We look at the areas they are investing in, and why financial influencers are not always what they seem. To get in touch with the programme, se ... Show More
17m 28s
Aug 24
Spain's power blackout: what went wrong?
On the morning of the 28th of April, Spain lost electric power equivalent to that generated by ten nuclear plants, leaving the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal and parts of France, without electricity for up to 12 hours. We examine the cause of the blackout that ... Show More
17m 28s
Aug 21
Business Daily meets: Spencer Horne
The South African entrepreneur tells us about his experience growing up under the apartheid regime, before securing a scholarship that would take him to Harvard University in the US.He's now returned home to set up Cloudline, an airship company which aims to deliver goods and car ... Show More
17m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2021
Can China raise its birth rate?
China’s decades-long One Child Policy has led to a low birth rate, and a shrinking workforce. It has also been placing a heavy burden on the younger generations who will have to support two parents and four grandparents. It’s predicted that in five years’ time, a quarter of the p ... Show More
23m 51s
Jan 2024
Can blind dates fix China’s shrinking population?
China’s population is shrinking so its government is trying to get more people to have kids by offering financial incentives and its own dating app. But not everyone is on board. Some people, especially young women, aren’t keen to follow in their parents’ more traditional footste ... Show More
12m 23s
Oct 2021
Can China encourage a baby boom?
China’s slowing birth rate has long been a concern for the government. It’s led to a slew of new policies meant to encourage a baby boom. But some new developments — like the mention of reducing abortions for "non-medical purposes" in new women’s health guidelines — have left som ... Show More
19m 30s
Jan 2023
Babies and families
Several countries are experiencing a fall in the number of babies being born and this has potentially serious consequences. Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has warned that his country is on the brink of not being able to function as a society. The problem is an increasingl ... Show More
24m 26s
Jan 2024
China's population drops for a second straight year
China, which once tried to control population growth with a one-child policy, is concerned the decline could seriously harm the world’s second largest economy. Also: Crowds clash with riot police in Russia over a jailed activist, and the drug offering a less invasive treatment fo ... Show More
28m 24s
Mar 2023
What Women in China Want
There are more than 8 billion humans on Earth, according to the United Nations. And for decades, China has had more people than any other country. But now, China’s population is declining. As soon as this year, it could lose its place as the most populous nation in the world. Nat ... Show More
28m 30s
Feb 2024
"Mehr als genug Probleme für China im Jahr des Drachen"
China steht in diesen Tagen im Zeichen des chinesischen Neujahrsfests - zum ersten Mal seit Ausbruch der Pandemie ohne staatliche Einschränkungen. Könnte das der lang ersehnte Push für die chinesische Konjunktur sein, ein Aufbruch zu besseren Zeiten? Volkmar Baur, China-Volkswirt ... Show More
28m 6s