The term one-child policy refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much broader effort to control population growth that began in 1970 and ended in 2021, a half century program that included minimum ages at marriage and childbearing, two-child limits for many couples, minimum time intervals between births, heavy surveillance, and stiff fines for non-compliance. The program had wide-ranging social, cultural, economic, and demographic effects, although the contribution of one-child restrictions to the broader program has been the subject of controversy.
What is one-child policy?
The "one-child policy" was a Chinese population planning initiative that was implemented from 1980 to 2015 to curb population growth by limiting many families to only one child. It was part of a larger effort to control population growth that began in 1970 and ended in 2021, which included setting minimum ages for marriage and childbearing, imposing two-child limits on many couples, requiring minimum intervals between births, close monitoring, and imposing stiff fines for non-compliance. The policy had far-reaching social, cultural, economic, and demographic effects, although the extent to which the one-child restrictions contributed to the broader program has been a matter of debate.