China is facing a fertility crisis that threatens its position as the most populous country in the world.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have sought to boost the birth rate, first by scrapping the contentious decades-long one-child policy in 2015, then this year abolishing the draconian Family Planning Commission which enforced the policy.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the effects of the one-child policy are proving harder to overcome, especially with more women choosing to have children later in life on account of the high cost of living, long working hours, unfriendly maternity policies and high child care costs.
CNN says environmental issues including pollution could also be factors, particularly for male infertility.
The broadcaster says another consequence of the one-child policy is an inverted population pyramid, with a shrinking number of workers to support a growing ageing population.
Another problem is China’s 40% conception rate, well below countries like the United States, Thailand and Malaysia, which have a 60% to 65% rate, according to a report by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.
The fertility crisis has led to a surge in government-licensed clinics offering IVF treatment and an increase in the number of Chinese couples seeking to pursue fertility treatment abroad, with the US and Thailand among the top destinations.
It has also spawned a new reality TV show, The UFO Fertility Show, which has proved an unlikely hit, attracting 43 million viewers when it first aired earlier this year.
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
‘But being a “hot” country does not make you a good country’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why have homicide rates reportedly plummeted in the last year?Today’s Big Question There could be more to the story than politics
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
