The demographic situation in China briefly. The demographic growth of China and its impact on the socio-economic development of the country: problems and prospects. The largest metropolitan areas in China

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Introduction

China is the world's most populous country and has long held the world's leading position in this indicator. Therefore, the issue of demographic policy in this country is one of the most important, and the problems associated with the population size are particularly acute here, and at this stage, without solving these problems, it is impossible to raise living standards.

In terms of population, China occupies the 1st place in the world - more than 1364 million people, and this means that every fifth inhabitant of the Earth is Chinese. Censuses in China have been conducted since ancient times, fixing the number of households for labor service or determining the number of inhabitants by the amount of salt eaten or mail. After the formation of the PRC, national censuses were held four times: in 1953, the population was about 588 million people, in 1964 - 705 million, in 1982 - 1.08 billion and in 1990 - 1.13 billion people. On the territory of the country the population is distributed extremely unevenly, its predominant part is concentrated on the coastal plains, in the valleys of the main Chinese rivers. Very high density The population is distinguished by the south of the Great Plain of China, the deltas of the Yangtze and Zhujiang rivers, the Sichuan depression. Alpine, desert areas, on the contrary, are rarely inhabited, but within their limits one can find densely populated areas of oasis agriculture. The population is dominated by men - 51.6%. The proportion of women is lower, which is typical for large populations developing countries. This is associated with higher social status men, difficult working conditions for women and frequent childbearing.

1. Policy "One family - one child"

china demographic family

China was forced to legally limit family size in the 1970s when it became clear that huge numbers of people were overburdening the country's land, water and energy resources. This demographic policy was called - "One family - one child." The Chinese leadership associates the fulfillment of socio-economic and political tasks with limiting the growth of a huge population. To limit population growth, since the mid-1960s, a family planning policy has been implemented in the country, and with increasing tightening of it. If at first a family with three children was allowed, then after a few years families were offered to have no more than two children, and from the beginning of the 80s they began to consider an exemplary family with one child.

The streets of the cities were full of slogans calling for having only one child: “To give birth to only one child is good!”, “To pursue a family planning policy meant to stimulate the successful implementation of the policy of four modernizations,” etc. successfully, were beautifully dressed, it was felt that they were surrounded by attention and care. Families with one child received benefits, such as the right to priority housing, free maintenance of a child in a kindergarten, advantages in admission to universities, etc. Peasant families with one child received an increase in the amount allocated household plots. For spouses with two or more children, sanctions were introduced in a number of areas, for example, at the birth of a second child, parents are required to return the bonus that they were paid monthly as a family with one child, and in addition, pay a fine, the amount of which, depending on income and residences ranged from a few hundred to several thousand yuan. Among concrete family planning measures is the promotion of late marriages. Officially, the age of marriage for women is 20 years, for men - 22 years, but additional restrictions were introduced, for example, it was strictly forbidden to create a family for students up to the threat of expulsion from the institute. At the same time, there was a trend towards the revival of the traditions of "early marriages".

In matters of marriage, China has gradually become more modern country. Previously, marriages were arranged by arrangement between parents. Divorce was no longer a rarity, but still their share was significantly lower than in Western countries, since divorce is considered a shame for the Chinese.

It should be noted that the slogan "One family - one child" was carried out taking into account local conditions And national characteristics. Thus, in areas inhabited by national minorities, the number of children could not be limited.

The “pros” of implementing the “one” child policy:

1. If prohibitions are now abandoned, then an equally numerous category of children will be added to the numerous old people. As a result, the proportion of the non-working population will increase by at least a quarter, and this state of affairs will continue for another 18 years.

2. The unprecedented economic growth that China has been demonstrating over the past 20 years has been achieved, among other things, thanks to the “one family, one child” policy.

3. The overall standard of living of a single Chinese family is growing. For their only child, parents can provide both a good education and opportunities for creative growth.

4. The cities of the country are overpopulated. Already, the level of urbanization of the population of China is approaching 50%. In case of permission for a second child and, accordingly, a demographic jump in cities, a sharp deterioration is possible environmental situation in the country.

5. Chinese peasants find it harder to feed every year urban population. China imported 575,000 tons of rice in 2011, and 2.8 million tons in 2012. And this is with a ban on large families. What will happen if the one-child policy has to be abolished?

However, the implementation of measures to curb population growth gives rise to new problems, including the aging of the population and the upbringing of single children in the family. Average duration life of the country's population in 2000 was 71.4 years. The population over the age of 65 has reached the 7% barrier - more than 90 million people. Therefore, they try to attract the attention of the general public to the problem of the elderly. Growing government spending on pension provision, treatment, rendering financial assistance, research in the field of gerontology is being activated. New problems also arose due to the lack of experience and traditions in raising children in families where the child is the only one. The Chinese press often talks about "little emperors", absolutely helpless, not accustomed to independence. Even at the age of ten, they cannot dress themselves, clean their clothes, not to mention the simplest personal hygiene skills. Parents choose for the child and the future profession, and prefer prestigious professions associated with mental work, creativity. They, regardless of the abilities of the child, want their child to occupy a higher position than themselves. Many Chinese families still want to have sons, since sons are the mainstay in old age, because a girl usually goes to her husband's house. Family contracting in the village also forces boys to be preferred. Under the policy of allowing only one child per family, women try to get rid of the unborn child if doctors believe that it will be a girl. There are frequent cases of killing of newborn girls, although the law is very severely punished for this.

Consequences of implementing the one-child policy:

The birth rate in China has dropped so much that if we continue at this pace, the population may decline. The birth rate in China is currently 1.7, well below the population replacement rate of 2.1. According to UN estimates, the population of the country by the end of the century may be reduced to 940 million. India will be far ahead of China by then.

The population is rapidly aging. In 2011, the age group over 60 in China was 185 million. It is predicted that in 2013 the figure will reach 200 million. And in the future, the dynamics of its growth will be + 7-8 million annually.

The share of the age group under 14 in 2010 was 16.6%, which was the lowest figure in the history of the country. A decrease in the number of young people as the most active and creative part of the population in the future may adversely affect the development of the country.

The only children in the family (now in China they are called “little emperors”), according to psychologists, are distinguished by inertia, lack of initiative, and laziness. The current well-being of the country was created and increased by generations of those over 30, that is, people from large families. As for today's Chinese children, they say that they no longer differ from their European or American peers. Just as spoiled.

If existing policies continue, the PRC may face a long-term gender imbalance in favor of boys. Now parents prefer to leave boys, which has already led to demographic inequality in society. For a long time, there are 120 boys for every 100 newborn girls. According to preliminary estimates, by 2020 there will be about 25 million bachelors in China. The ban on the preliminary determination of the sex of the child is last resort, and it is also unlikely to justify itself.

The restriction on the second child is already very often bypassed: either with the help of tricks (they go to give birth abroad, in another province, in the village), or they simply ignore it, and then pay a fine. So in 2007 in the Chinese province of Hubei, more than 90 thousand people violated this law and among them - 1 thousand 678 officials and party members.

The continuation of such a policy is fraught with an increase in social tension in a society where children become the privilege of the prosperous part of the citizens. By paying fines, wealthy Chinese actually buy themselves the right to be realized as parents. The poor are deprived of this happiness.

The implementation of the current policy leads to tragic consequences of a medical and psychological nature. Over the thirty years of its existence, about 400 million abortions have been performed in the country.

According to some experts in the field of demography, if the policy of "one family - one child" is abandoned, there will be no population explosion will not follow in China, because it has already completed the so-called demographic transition, when high level life itself limits the birth rate, and a high level of medicine, accordingly, limits mortality.

Relaxing the One Family, One Child Policy

Now, the Chinese authorities fear a labor shortage in the future. China's working-age population - people aged 16 to 59 - fell in 2012 and 2013. The number of workers who could have contributed to the development of three decades of rapid economic growth is being reduced. Since the proposal work force China is shrinking, its potential growth rate will fall to an average of 6.2% per year from 2016 to 2020, Fan Gang, former adviser People's Bank China, speaking at a forum in the city of Wuhan, predicted a potential growth rate of 7% to 8% per year until 2020.

The rule “one family - one child” that has been in force for 34 years will be changed. Chinese authorities have agreed to ease the "one family, one child" policy, the Xinhua news agency reported. Families will now be allowed to have two children if one of the parents was an only child. This will help maintain the required size of the workforce, said National Commission health care and family planning in China. The average economic growth rate in China will be 6.6% until 2030 and 2.3% in 2030-2060. This is the biggest shift in the country's social policy and the largest expansion economic rights in China for 30 years, UBS analysts said. After years of denial, the Chinese government has finally acknowledged the demographic problem, said Cai Yong of the University of North Carolina.

The one-child rule was introduced in 1979 to curb population growth due to limited land, water and energy resources, has set a population target of 1.2 billion by the year 2000. The government claims to have succeeded in “reducing the pressure that population growth has placed on resources and environment". In fact, the population of the country in 2000 grew to 1.24 billion, in 2010 - to 1.34 billion, the number of elderly people (from 60 and above) increased to 160 million (13.3% of able-bodied citizens). Demographic goal for 2020 - 1.43 billion people. It is unlikely to be achieved, Chinese officials admit. The rapid aging of the population threatens to undermine the competitiveness of the world's second largest economy and provoke a pension crisis, warned the OECD. years will increase by 164.5%. Now the country has 1 billion able-bodied population (aged 15 to 64), by 2050 its number will be reduced to 615 million against an increase in India by 320 million to 1.1 billion people. The effect of abolishing the one-child rule will be insignificant: it may increase the birth rate by 1-2 million people in the first few years, but this will not solve the labor force problem. Most young families do not want to have more than one child, only 8% of those who previously had the opportunity to have a second took advantage of this opportunity, demography expert Xi Yafu tells the FT.

On this moment In China, there is an active discussion of the pros and cons of the liberalization of the "one child" policy.

On the one hand, fines called “social education fees” have been levied for years on those who violated the one-child policy. Chinese media reports that the fine generated a staggering $2.7 billion in provincial government coffers in 2012 alone. This is a significant amount, especially given the growing debts of regional administrations.

On the other hand, one of the factors that contributed to the liberalization of policy was a sharp change in the demographic composition of the population. China's National Bureau of Statistics said earlier in 2013 that the country's working-age population aged 15 to 59 fell by 3.45 million to 937 million.

Researchers from the International Monetary Fund noted that "in a few years, the level of the working population will reach a historical maximum, and then a sharp decline will begin." There is a lot of debate about the possibility of China reaching a "Lewis turning point", when the country transforms from a state with a huge labor force into an economy with a shortage of such resources. If this happens, the consequences will be significant not only for China, but for the whole world, which is so dependent on cheap products made in this country. The consequences of not revising the one-child policy could be much worse than liberalizing it.

Bibliography

1. Online magazine "Market Leader"

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Implementation of the Small Families Decree

A tough demographic policy was carried out by the communist leadership of China throughout the second half of the twentieth century, but it became especially tougher in the seventies of the last century. Such actions of the state are explained by the fact that at that time in China it was too a large number of large families. Because of this, the economy of the whole country worsened, the standard of living of a large population fell. It was very difficult to support large families - they simply did not have enough square meters housing even for the most modest life. Moreover, such families needed the care of the state, social benefits, and so on.

Baby - all the best

For young families with one child, all the best that the state could offer at that time was planned. But for parents who accidentally or deliberately had more children, the punishment in the form of a fine corresponded to several average annual incomes of the region permanent residence. Unlucky parents literally had to ransom their children.

The activity of the state in China, expressed in the slogan "One family - one child", was reduced to a population reduction by 2000 to a total of 1.2 billion people. propagandized administrative actions, contraceptives were actively introduced, and mass abortions became widespread. So they fought with the "hated past."

And in principle, it has become very difficult to maintain such a population. Then the statisticians calculated that the number of Chinese would soon become such that the country simply would not survive. It was also difficult to introduce politics because it was traditional in China to have a large family. And since there are no state pensions for the population, grown-up daughters and sons had to support elderly parents - that is why they gave birth to three or four or more children.

Causes of the "baby boom" in the twentieth century.

China has known the problem of overpopulation since the era of the samurai. They actively pursued a policy of expanding land holdings, and their spouses developed a family way of life and gave birth to heirs. The Chinese tradition of large families began to be actively cultivated after the bloody World War II. At that time, the country's authorities, realizing that in the world during the war era, the population declined, and in China it is necessary to increase economic level, began to adhere to the tactics of large families. The appearance of 3-4 children in the family was especially cultivated.

However, when the number of Chinese began to increase too rapidly, attempts were gradually made to reduce these rates, various restrictions were introduced for large families. And the most painful measure of influence on the current demographic situation in the country was the tactic "One family - one child." Officially, the policy was adopted as the state course in 1979.

Chinese statistics

The policy of reducing the birth rate in China already at that time had certain hidden flaws and shortcomings. Everything was determined by the specifics of population accounting. In China, there is no registration process for newborns, as in Russia, and registration is carried out only according to the number of relatives who died in the family over the past year. calendar year. However, this approach exacerbates the problem of the exact size of the population in China, it is believed that now it is not the same as the available official data.

The state course "One family - one child" immediately met with difficulties in the form of a gender problem. In China, as in purely Asian country, not as positive attitude towards women as in Europe. In Asia, women in social relations an order of magnitude lower than men. Because of this, when a girl was the first-born in the family, her father and mother sought by any means (including not entirely legal) to obtain official permission to give birth to another child. Even the parents tried to get rid of the pregnancy as a girl, as they understood that the grown-up daughter would have to bear full responsibility for her elderly parents on her fragile shoulders. As a result of all this, a situation arose when it was the authorities who decided who had another child, and who needed one baby.

Economic consequences

In the development of the “One family - one child” course, the state nevertheless received some positive moments. The authorities spend significantly less resources on an only child than on several. Because of this, there is no acute problem of increasing wages, and as a result, cheap labor continues to be maintained with a sufficiently high working capacity of the Chinese. The age composition of the population has changed, and the financing policy of Chinese families has also changed slightly. In addition, women who are not obliged to stay in the family for a long time to raise children could pay more attention to work in enterprises, which also had a positive effect on the favorable economic development states. And the authorities themselves no longer needed to look for resources to feed and educate several children at once.

These aspects of life had a positive aspect, and at some time the country even found itself in ideal conditions, when there were few minors, and there were still few old people. But in the end, the course "One family - one child" gradually revealed its negative sides. There were problems that were not even thought about.

Too many old people

During the period of a small number of elderly residents, the authorities did not expect what would happen in the near future, and almost everyone was satisfied with the law "One family - one child." But time passed. The negative aspects appeared at the beginning of the twenty-first century: age structure The population has changed, the elderly population has become much more. These people now had to be looked after, but there was no one to do this. The able-bodied Chinese were earning a living, and there were not enough young people.

The authorities were also not ready to provide for the elderly. Pension payments were insufficient. Because of this, having lived to the age of 70, part of the inhabitants continued to work in order to provide for themselves.

The problem of lonely elderly Chinese has become aggravated. A new, rather heavy duty of the structure of social services to control the elderly has appeared. It often happened that one person lived in the family, who was no longer able to cope with the duties of the owner and the arising household chores.

Children

Another negative consequence of China's demographic policy was the pedagogical problem of raising growing children. Of course, the opportunities to raise an only child well, to provide him necessary funds and resources, substantially more than doing it for a few. But it soon became noticeable that the children became too selfish. There is a known case when a mother became pregnant with another child, and a teenage daughter presented her with a condition: either the mother immediately had an abortion, or the girl killed herself. This behavior was associated with an understandable selfish feeling of taking advantage of parental care and not sharing it with another child.

The problem of selective (gender) abortion

Demographic indicators were influenced by the attitude of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire towards women, as well as the existing limit on the number of children in the family. It is clear that the father and mother wanted a boy to be born to them. But the sex cannot be ordered, so some parents began to look for the possibility of determining the sex during pregnancy in order to get rid of the child if it turns out that the spouses are expecting a girl.

Illegal medical services to conduct an ultrasound to clarify the sex of the fetus, although this was prohibited by the state. The "One family - one child" course eventually provoked an increase in selective (gender) abortions, which became common among women in China (the country is still the world leader in the number of abortions).

Women's question

So, in China, the situation has strengthened: one child in the family. Was this policy good or bad for women? After a sharp increase in the birth rate of boys in China, the number of girls has significantly decreased. Initially, this situation did not seem particularly problematic. After all, it is much more “useful” to raise a boy who, in his old age, will be the breadwinner for his parents. The policy even in certain ruling circles received a different name: "One family - one child with a higher education." The father and mother were proud of the opportunity to give their son a good education, because they found the means to teach him.

But later it turned out that there were few girls, and there were too many representatives of the stronger sex. So, another acute problem arose - the search for a wife. In China, because of this, non-traditional sex began to actively develop. Separate statistical studies show that young people who enter into same-sex relationships do not reject traditional marriage, if there is such an opportunity. Today, the excess of the male population over the female is twenty million people.

Hong Kong

The policy "One family - one child" dictates quotas for the appearance of a baby. Therefore, a significant part of the Chinese women who decided to have another child had to go to give birth in neighboring country- Hong Kong. There, the laws are less strict, and there have never been any birth quotas. However, the problem appeared in the smallest state. After all, the number of Chinese women is quite large, and the number of beds in maternity hospitals is designed for the female population of Hong Kong. As a result, not all local mothers got the opportunity to give birth to their children in maternity hospitals - there were always no free places. Officials of both states began to resist the "mother tourism".

Changing the Restriction Policy

Summing up the impact of China's population policy, officials began to understand that they needed to somehow soften the content of the law and provide families with the opportunity to have more than one child. As a result, this standard was abolished in the fall of 2015.

The Chinese government has adopted a new regulation allowing families to have two children. According to officials, this will make the problem of mass selective abortions less acute, the problem of the predominance of boys will disappear over time, and some families will be able to raise girls as well. Finally, there will not be such a significant decrease in the young population, and two of their children will help parents in old age. It must be borne in mind that not all women at the time of the policy change can still have children, some will remain with an only child. All these nuances indicate that the demographic situation will not change dramatically with the adoption of the 2015 law. Although the very cancellation of the course can already be considered a small victory.

"One family - one child": policy cancellation

Of course, there is a rumor going around the world about the cruelty of the Chinese authorities (partially true) within the framework of politics. The situation improved slightly when, from the beginning of 2016, the state rate per child in the family was completely abolished. There are several reasons for this softness of the government. For example, this law began to actively oppose economic opportunities countries. Difficulties also arose in the moral sphere.

Future

Some politicians and public figures are wary of latest changes, because they allow for the possibility of a baby boom and a significant increase in demographics. But in principle, there is no need to fear a sharp deterioration in the demographic situation. The problem is that in Lately(since 2013) there has already been one relaxation of the state's course - it was possible to have two children in some families where the husband or wife was the only child in the family. Consequently, the Chinese were already somewhat prepared for a change in policy.

For families of young Chinese, the cancellation is a wind of change in their favor. After all, they were officially allowed to give birth not to lonely egoists, but to two members of society who can live in a team.

One of the most pressing problems in China, which local media called no less serious than the recent economic turmoil in the country, is the problem of the population, or rather, its rapid aging. Chinese news portal Hexun reported on September 30, citing official government figures, that the birth rate in the country is 1,181, meaning the next generation will shrink by 45% and the next generation by 70%. First, there will be noticeably fewer children, and then the adult working population.

The article provides an analysis of the 2010 All-China Population Census. So, in 2018, the number of university students, that is, young people aged 18 to 22, in the country will be 55.6% less than it was in 2008. Major closure expected educational institutions, from elementary schools to universities.

The Chinese newspaper First Financial Daily writes that if in a country children under the age of 14 make up 15-18% of the population, this is considered a “very low birth rate”, if less than 15%, then this is an “extremely low birth rate”.

According to the Chinese Family Planning Commission, in 2014 the number of children in this age group in the country was 16.5% of the population, which is much lower than the global average of 26%.

The article also states that in 10 years the number of women in the most favorable age for childbearing (from 23 to 28 years) in the country will decrease by 44.3%. The number of children under the age of 14 will decrease by 10%, and will be much less than the "extremely low birth rate".

However, despite such trends, China's population continues to increase.

Chinese demographer He Yafu explained that this is happening by inertia and will continue for some time. In the 1960s, the population of China began to age. According to He, soon the death rate will be much higher than the birth rate, and then the rate of population decline in the PRC will become "unprecedented in history."

Chinese experts in this field, with whom First Financial Daily journalists spoke, believe that the timing of the start of the country's population decline depends on the policy of the authorities in the field of demography. But they all agree that the UN forecast is generally correct.

Currently, the fastest rates of population aging in China are observed in Shanghai, Beijing, as well as the provinces of Henan and Sichuan.

According to the statistics of the Family Planning Commission, in 2014 the number of people over the age of 60 in China reached 15.5% of the country's population, up from 13.3% four years ago. In addition, China has seen a decline in working-age people for three years in a row.

Specialists from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences note that in many parts of the country there is a "comparatively low" desire of young people born after the 80s to have children. For the year of action new policy, allowing the birth of a second child to spouses who are the only children in the family, only 13% of families filed applications for the birth of children.

Chinese experts warn that an aging population and a shrinking workforce could deal a significant blow to the economy. A simultaneous decline in consumption and demand may begin, as a result of which the economy will lose momentum.

Gu Baochang, a demographer at China's Renmin University, warns that China's biggest threat in the 21st century will come from the dangers of an aging and declining population.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the attitude towards the elderly in modern Chinese society is very cool.

The Chinese portal Sina recently conducted a survey on the topic "Will you help an elderly person if he fell on the street?"

About 20,000 people took part in the survey, which was conducted online. As a result, 70.9% of participants said they would not help. Only 6.7% are ready to help. The rest wrote what they think first.

This is confirmed by independent demographic statistics. According to studies, every fifth person on the planet is Chinese. It would seem that demographic issues should not be raised in this country. But in practice this is not the case. The government must decide on social security their citizens, and given their number, it is not so easy to do this. In this regard, China is seriously engaged in birth planning.

Numerical characteristic of China

Everyone knows that the Chinese are the most numerous nation on Earth. However, it is rather difficult to give an exact figure. Official figures for the PRC claim that there are more than one and a half billion citizens. But no one can say whether this is really so, since a full-fledged population census has never been conducted here.

Initially, it was decided to carry out this process for each yard. In the past, people were counted based on salt intake per household or postal orders. Since that time, China's population policy has changed. We will find out further about what this led to.

After the fall of the Empire, the population corresponded only four times:

in 1953 China's population was 588 million people;
in 1964 - 705 million people;
in 1982, one billion people;
in 1990, 1.13 billion people.

Distinctive features of China

In China, not all territories are populated. Due to the diverse climatic zones, the multifaceted Chinese nature, overpopulated and deserted areas have appeared.

Mostly people settled on the plains, near the sea. The population prefers to have constant access to water, and therefore, to settle in those places where there are streams or rivers. The Chinese economy is still heavily dependent on Agriculture. Therefore, the state continues to promote the creation of farms and public fields. And this is possible only on fertile soils.

The main occupations of the peasants were fishing and rice cultivation. Both require active interaction with water resources. So the deltas of the main rivers Zhujiang and Yangtze are even overpopulated. The south of China's Great Plain and the Sichuan Basin also became locations for metropolitan areas. The population of China in these places exceeds one billion people.

But where the mountains are, cities and villages are extremely rare. Often land in the highlands is set aside for the cultivation of plants suitable for the area itself.

Gender composition

The Republic of China has long pursued a policy of having only one child per family. Boys were preferred. In order to reduce the birth rate, a family that had more children than allowed was subject to fines, which determined the laws of China.

In terms of sex ratio, today 51.6% of the population is male. And given figure increases from year to year. But China's population policy has not always been so harsh.

Economic justification

The Republic of China is considered one of the most actively developing countries. It is characterized by the processes of the formation of the economy, a change in the political course and the transition to high-tech production processes. The main task in such a situation, according to the decision of the authorities, is to limit the birth rate. What is the reason? The answer is simple: the Chinese economy is simply not able to feed such a large number of citizens.

That is why, since the mid-sixties of the last century, the PRC has limited population growth by imposing bans on the number of children in one family.

At first it was possible to have three offspring. But over time, the law limited the rules to two. And a little later, families with one baby became relevant.

Advertising for demographic purposes

The government has thought about how to actively implement a program for future family planning. The Chinese are given as an example that people who have only one child can afford to provide him with a decent future, dress him, shoe him, and give him what he deserves.

Such agitation in the cities had a positive effect on the inhabitants. Couples try to limit themselves in the number of children. The authorities encourage law-abiding citizens.

For those who have only one baby, certain benefits are provided. So, they can get housing in the first place, arrange a child for free in a kindergarten, give him an education at the best university. Children from countryside large tracts of land are given out.

This demographic policy of China has brought positive results. Population growth has been halted. However, hunger also contributed to this factor.

The first reforms carried out by Mao Zedong caused an unprecedented economic recession, and as a result, in three years, from 1959 to 1961, according to various estimates, about 16,000,000 people died.

Large families

The population decline during the Great Chinese Famine paid off. Now China's demographic policy is aimed only at preventing spontaneous population growth. In the Republic of China, a couple who has two children must waive the bonus they receive for one child, and refund everything that the state has previously paid them. Also, this family will be fined additionally. They will be required to pay an amount that, depending on the salary and place of residence, will range from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand.

late wedding

The country's authorities are confident that the most deliberate marriage is the one that takes place in adulthood. In China, the bar for the permitted time of marriage has been raised. So, girls can tie themselves up only from the age of twenty. Guys are allowed to marry only after reaching the age of 22.

However, those young people who are still studying at the university cannot get married. The administration often excludes such students for such a reckless act. But despite this, in last years boys and girls often think about the wedding at a young age. An ancient custom is becoming popular again. The characterization of China would be incomplete without dwelling on this point in more detail.

Features of marriage traditions

Traditions continue to play an important role in the life of this nation. Despite all the efforts of modern politicians to renew the state, medieval rituals are still preserved in some villages and settlements.

Even in the capital of China, Beijing, until recently, the parents of the bride and groom agreed on marriages. It was the mother and father who chose the right partner for their child for life. To refuse a candidate agreed upon at the council of senior relatives meant to reject the whole family.

But lately the situation has begun to change. Girls and boys themselves prefer to look for a mate. Moreover, representatives of the beautiful half of humanity often take a leading position in this process.

As for divorces, the statistics in China on them are small. In Western countries, divorce is ten times more common. Nevertheless, in the Celestial Empire they are also thinking about the problem with the increased number of divorces.

The territory of China is quite extensive. Many different ethnic groups live here. They have completely different rules. They can have as many children as they want. They are not eligible for benefits. In addition, since the territory of China is quite vast, many indigenous people tend to move from large cities to calmer and less populated regions. Therefore, the migration of the population within the country is clearly expressed here.

Problems of society. China's population policy in brief

Due to the policy of population reduction, the Chinese in modern world began to suffer from the problems caused by such a policy. Thus, the population does not have a proper balance between the generation that is being born and the dying. As a result, in the People's Republic of China, the number of pensioners far exceeds the number of young people.

In 2000, according to official estimates social institutions It turned out that on average the inhabitants of the country live 71 years. More than ninety million Chinese have already reached the age limit of 65 years. There are 7% of them in the country.

Now the state is trying to draw the attention of all citizens to the fact that the problem of the older generation is only increasing. It exists, and no one has yet been able to solve it. Very soon, the country's losses in the payment of pensions, material maintenance, the issuance of free medicines to old people will exceed the earnings of young Chinese who go to the treasury.

On the other hand, China's policy is aimed at reducing the population even more in the next 20 years. According to experts, China will soon overtake other countries in all social indicators.

Children problem

However, most believe that China's future is in jeopardy. Fighting children from large families, who are open to any task, have been replaced by pampered loners who cannot cope even with elementary tasks.

Having grown up with his parents as the only pet, the Chinese continue to enjoy the guardianship of his elders on the most insignificant issues. In some of them, egoism is too strong to do the right things, make some sacrifices for the good of the nation and think about someone other than themselves. Traditions that would teach how to raise one child have not yet been developed in China.

The press is full of headlines about how children dare to act too selfishly, which can usually shock people from other countries. Mothers and fathers pamper their children by helping to brush their teeth, tie their shoelaces, take a shower until the age of ten. As a result, they cannot even get dressed without outside help.

Parents become overprotective. They plan the whole life of their child. Often, without asking the opinion of a son or daughter, they are sent to study for those specialties that are highly valued in China. This does not take into account the level of abilities of the future student, his hobby, inclination to the subject.

Parents try to arrange a child in life. Traditionally, a boy brings happiness to the house, and with the birth of a girl, it ends. The man can usually stay with his parents while the woman goes to her husband's house. The village family is also trying to give birth to a boy so that he will help more on the field.

All this makes politicians think seriously. The territory of China is far from fully developed. There is a need to populate desert regions. It is quite possible that in the near future this fact will be the reason for a local change in demographic policy.

The realities of modernity

The peculiar demographic policy of China and certain foundations and prejudices in society lead to the fact that young women get rid of pregnancy if an ultrasound scan shows that a girl may appear. Often near the hospital, in the trash cans on the street, buried in the ground, they find the bodies of newborn babies.

The state forbids the killing of children. However, it also imposes a fine for the birth of a second child. In this light, it becomes quite understandable why women in the PRC dare such horrors.

Such features of China give scientists reason to argue that if the number of children born does not increase by 2050, then the main part of the country's population will be pensioners aged between fifty and ninety years.

Introduction

The relevance of the topic is manifested in the fact that the problem of the demographic situation in the PRC has long ceased to be an issue that is relevant exclusively for the country's leadership. The imbalance between the number of inhabitants and natural resources In China, the uneven distribution of the population, both across the country and between the city and the countryside, are factors that directly affect not only the internal security of the PRC, but also carry a potential threat to stability on a global scale. An analysis of the state and main measures regulating the demographic and migration policy of the PRC is necessary to understand not only the problems associated with the population in China, but also to understand the development prospects of the country as a whole, as well as to consider and evaluate its impact on global economic and social processes. The ways of solving the demographic problems pursued by the PRC at the present stage is a unique example of the creation and functioning of a well-functioning mechanism for coordinating demographic and economic processes inside the country. Therefore, a detailed consideration of the main measures of demographic policy, their consequences, as well as the problems that the state encountered when implementing these measures, seems necessary.

The object of the study is the population of China.

The subject of the study is the change in the size and age structure of the population, labor resources, education personnel, urbanization processes, migration flows, under the influence of the state demographic policy. The purpose of the study is to assess the development of the demographic situation in the context of socio-economic changes and substantiate ways to resolve demographic problems in China. To achieve the goal, the following tasks must be solved:

1)Holding the nature of the demographic situation in China;

2) Reviewing the characteristics of demographic problems in China;

3) Analysis of the main directions of the demographic policy of the PRC. The study is based on a systematic approach to the analysis of the object under study and the subject of research, understanding the population as a single complex structured whole, developing in the interaction of political, geographical, geopolitical and other factors. In the study term paper the works of Bazhenova E.S., Berger Ya.M., Bichurin N.Ya., Jan He Lan, Dudchenko G., Samburov E.N., Medvedeva A.A., Yakovlev M. China, various Internet publications. Of particular value are the statistics provided by the Committee on Population Policy and Planned Childbirth of the PRC, the National Committee for the Affairs of the Elderly, and the Office of the Committee on Women and Children under the State Council of the PRC.

1 general information about the demographic situation in China

1.1 Population and natural increase

China's demographic resources are unparalleled in the world. In 2003, the population was about 1.287 billion people, or 22% of the world's population. Ancient historical chronicles indicate that in China, the first population counts (“censuses”) were carried out in the Zhou kingdom in 788 BC. and in the kingdom of Chu in 589 BC. such population counts were carried out relatively regularly after the formation of a centralized state. For the first 150 years of this period there were over 10; only taxpayers, as well as women aged 15-30, were subject to registration; the average population according to these censuses is 63.5 million people, adjusted for the entire population - 80-85 million people. These "censuses" were imperfect, incomplete; undercounting and double counting existed simultaneously, national minorities were not subject to registration, and migrants were not taken into account. After the formation of the People's Republic of China, a universal population count began to be established in the country, and in 1953 the first nationwide census was conducted, the results of which showed the population - 582.6 million people (excluding Taiwan). The second census of the PRC took place in 1964, the population on that date was 698.6 million people. In the summer of 1982, the third nationwide census was conducted; the number was 1008.2 million people, i.e. surpassed 1 billion for the first time. The 1990 census data showed that the population of China's 29 provinces and autonomous regions was 1.160 billion. The population of the PRC grew by 618 million in 1949-1990, from 542 million to 1,160 million, with an average absolute increase of about 15 million. It should be noted that in the first half of the 20th century, the population increased by only 50-60 million people, the population growth rate was about 0.3% per year. From total amount absolute growth in the 1950s accounted for 120 million people, in the 1960s - 145 million, in the 1970s - 146 million.

Table 1 - Dynamics of the number and growth of the population of the PRC

Table 2 - the main demographic indicators of the PRC according to 2005 estimates

China's population reached 1.3 billion on January 6, 2005, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Over the past two decades, the population reproduction regime in China has changed radically. The natural growth of the population can no longer be classified as underdeveloped countries: in particular, the annual natural population growth has decreased to less than 1%, and the average life expectancy has exceeded 70 years. financial situation people and their medical care.

1.2 Birth and death rates

For many centuries, China has been characterized by exceptionally high mortality. Only in the late 1940s and early 1950s was it possible to significantly reduce mortality rates; infant mortality decreased by 3-4 times and amounted to 75 per 1000 children under the age of one year in cities. The number of people dying from infectious diseases has sharply decreased, and the structure of causes of death has also changed. A significant change in mortality, which took place in the 50s, was suspended in the period 1958-1962. Life expectancy at birth in 1981 was 67.9 years (66.4 for men and 69.3 for women). In view of the change in the age structure and the increase in the proportion of elderly age groups there will be a gradual increase in mortality - up to 7.3% by the year 2000 and 9.4% in the first third of the next millennium, according to UN forecast estimates. traditionally high birth rate in old China. The presence of peaceful conditions during this period of time, the favorable socio-economic situation in the country contributed to the formation of new families. The results of 16 surveys conducted in various provinces of China in 1951-1954 give average birth rate 41.6%. In the subsequent period of time, there is a clear trend towards a decrease in the birth rate - by the end of the 70s, the indicator had halved compared to the period of the 50s - 60s. The decrease in the birth rate occurred under the influence of changes in socio-economic conditions, the action of a number of long-term factors, among which the following should be noted:

1) an increase in the level of general and sanitary culture of the population, which led to a decrease in child mortality; fewer births were required to achieve the desired family size;

2) changing the functions of the family, the transformation of traditional family relations, reducing the economic usefulness of children;

3) the weakening of the religious norms of traditional Chinese society, the loss of the significance of many religious rituals;

4) involvement of women in active labor activity both in urban and rural areas, the spread of education.

Table 3 - Dynamics of the death rate in China

Table 4 - Dynamics of the birth rate in China

“The policy “one family - one child” applies only to large cities and relatively developed regions,” said the Director of the Department international relations State Committee of the People's Republic of China for Population and Fertility Planning Hao Linna. “In 19 provinces, with regard to rural population a policy of 1.5 children is being implemented: that is, if a couple had a girl first, then they have the right to have a second child,” Hao Linna said, adding that if a son was born first, then the family loses the right to a second child. In the more backward and marginal regions, peasants are initially entitled to two children, regardless of who was born first, she said. Finally, representatives of national minorities, even in cities, can give birth to two children. "In the villages of Xinjiang - Uighur Autonomous Region, a family can have three children, and in the villages of Tibet there are no such restrictions at all," the director emphasized.

1.3 Age, gender structure of the population and the nature of the urbanization process

Significant changes in age structure of the population are determined by the trends of reducing the share of the young and increasing the share of the elderly population of the country, which leads to an aggravation of the problem of population aging. The share of older people in the population accounts for 7.6% (99.3 million people in 2005. Annually, the number of older people increases by about 2-3%. The aging process of the population of China is much more rapid than in other countries, which is explained by the success in implementing a strict policy of birth control and the improvement of the social and living conditions of the Chinese people in recent decades.In the early years of the existence of the PRC, 34% of the population accounted for young people, in the late 60s - 43%.However, as a result of measures on birth control, the proportion of the population under the age of 15 has slightly decreased and now stands at 33.6% total strength population. In 1953, the share of persons under the age of 14 accounted for 36.3%, from 15 to 64 years - 59.3%, in 1964 - respectively, 40.4 and 56.1%; in 1972 - 35.8 and 59.4%; in 1982, this ratio changed quite significantly: up to 14 years old - 33.6%, 15-64 years old - 61.5, and in 2000 - 23 and 70% . China has every chance of becoming the oldest (in terms of population) country in the world. Significant changes in the age structure of the population are determined by the trend towards a decrease in the share of the young and an increase in the share of the elderly population of the country, which leads to an aggravation of the problem of population aging. The share of older people in the population accounts for 7.6% (99.3 million people in 2005. Annually, the number of older people increases by about 2-3%. The aging process of the population of China is much more rapid than in other countries, which is explained by the success in implementing a strict policy of birth control and the improvement of the social and living conditions of the Chinese people in recent decades.In the early years of the existence of the PRC, 34% of the population accounted for young people, in the late 60s - 43%.However, as a result of measures In 1953, the share of the population under the age of 15 decreased slightly and now stands at 33.6% of the total population. %, in 1964 - respectively, 40.4 and 56.1%; in 1972 - 35.8 and 59.4%; in 1982 - this ratio changed very significantly: up to 14 years - 33.6%, 15 -64 years 61.5, and in 2000 - 23 and 70%... China has every chance of becoming the oldest (in terms of population) country in the world. China is one of the countries with low level urbanization, and until 1949 this was due to the insufficient development of modern production in cities. Significant growth in the urban population compared to previous period was observed in 1953-1957. The urban population increased more rapidly than the rural population, with growth rates averaging 6.4% and 1.6% per year, respectively. The most urbanized areas include the provinces of Heilongjiang (40%) and Liaoning (42%). largest cities are: Shanghai - 6.3, Beijing - 5.6, Tianjin - 5.1, Chongqing - 2.7, Harbin - 2.5. By the beginning of 1958, about 3 million people had been expelled from urban areas. During this period, China's urban population increased to about 115 million. At the same time, there was also a movement from populous areas to sparsely populated ones, mainly from the cities of central subordination - Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, as well as from the densely populated provinces of the country. There are currently 207 million people living in China's cities. The proportion of the urban population in the total population of the country is still not large - 20.6%. Obviously, the growth of cities is mainly due to natural increase population. August 17, 2001 New details of the country's large-scale urbanization plans were released in China. According to the State Planning and Development Commission, urban dwellers now make up just over 30% of China's total population. But by 2010 it is planned to increase their share to 40%. Experts quoted by China's state media believe it is likely that in 20 years 60% of the country's population will live in cities. According to published data, China's rapid transformation from a predominantly agricultural society to an urban one is accelerating. Now there are already 660 large cities in China - three times more than two decades ago. The total number of urban-type settlements has grown during this time by a factor of nine and has now exceeded 20,000. If in 1978 there were 170 million Chinese living in cities, now there are already 456 million of them. And, according to the commission, in the future, at least 10 million people will move from the countryside to the city every year.