(in rural China)

One Child Policy• Introduced in 1978.• Introduced to resist the health, social and economic

problems faced due to the rapidly rising Chinese population.

• Prevented 400 million births from when the policy was introduced until 2011.

• This policy has been resisted in some rural areas due to their need for labour.

• 1980 rural reforms encouraged rural families to demand more family labour.

Exemptions in rural areas• A third child is sanctioned in some ethnic minorities and in

remote, under-populated areas. • It was recognised that in rural areas having multiple children

was beneficial to many families.• Because of this, in many rural areas the one child policy has

been slightly relaxed.• Two children are allowed for families whose first child was a

daughter, as long as they wait at least five years before having another child.

• Furthermore, a third child is sanctioned in some ethnic minorities and in remote, under-populated areas.

Comparisons between urban and rural effects of the policy• Overall, the fertility rate in China has dropped from 2.9 in 1979

to 1.7 in 2004.• At this point, the fertility rate in urban areas was only 1.3,

whereas, it was only just under 2 in rural areas.• The sex ratios in china in 2001 was 117 boys:100 girls at birth.

However, this ratio is even higher in rural areas.• In rural areas the sex ratio is 105:100 for the first birth as most

families are allowed two children so there is less gendercide than you will see urban areas for the first birth where the sex ratio is 113:100.

• However, this value is even higher for the second birth in rural areas. This is due to the preference for families to have sons, so if the child is a female, the pregnancy often “disappears” allowing the couple another attempt to have a son.

4:2:1• The 4:2:1 phenomenon, is an affect of the one child policy.

Due to the restrictions on family size, in many places, one couple are responsible for 4 parents and one child which puts a lot of economic strain on the couple.

• This phenomenon is especially prominent in urban areas.• However, despite the slight relaxations on the one child policy

in rural areas this is still a problem.• This is especially prominent due to the lower GDP per capita

in rural China so individuals who have to support themselves along with parents, children and possibly grandparents find their incomes stretched.

• For example, Jiangsu (east coast), has a GDP per capita of US$13,178. Whereas, Yunnan (south), has a GDP per capita of only US$3,981.

Cultural differences

• Different ethnicities such as Tibetan, Uighur and Mongolian allowed to have as many children as they like.

• Han Chinese (largest ethnicity) only allowed one.

• Villagers could possibly get past Hukou by simply paying more to send children to different school, thus could have as many children as they like.

Han Chinese prevalent in most of China, urban areas.