Two children allowed

last updated 8 January 2015

Beijing

The Chinese government is considering a radical change to its controversial population-control policy that would allow every couple to have two children. The current one-child policy has been credited with keeping China’s population of 1.3 billion in check, but only through brutal tactics like forced abortion and sterilization. Now the repercussions are outweighing the benefits, as China is faced with an aging population and not enough workers to support them. And a disproportionate amount of the younger generation is male—a situation that historically leads to economic and political instability. A Chinese government panel recently advocated easing in a new, two-child policy. They say it wouldn’t cause a population explosion, since couples in rural areas are already allowed to have two children, as are couples in which neither parent has a sibling.