One Child Policy, China

China has the highest population of any country in the world. Mid-2006 estimates set China's population at just over 1.3 billion; its rate of natural increase (RNI) is 0.6 percent per year. This rate is one-half that of the world and only one-third of India's RNI (1.7 percent). There is every indication that India will pass China in total population some time between 2030 and 2040. Despite its relatively low RNI, China has chosen to continue its often criticized official policy of one child per family, which has been reauthorized through the current five-year plan (2006–10). The Chinese government justifies the extension of this policy by stating that it continues to be consistent with the country's basic plan for population growth, a plan that reflects ...