In the 2010 Forbes ranking of “ The World ‘s Most Powerful Peoples ” , the Chinese president Hu JinTao 1, topped the one-year ranking for the first clip. The Forbes list ranked 68 of the universe ‘s 6.8 billion people based on their ability to “ flex the universe to their will ” 2. Forbes described the Chinese president as
“ Paramount political leader of more people than anyone else on the planet ; exercisings near dictatorial control over 1.3 billion people, one-fifth of universe ‘s population. Unlike Western opposite numbers, Hu can deviate rivers, build metropoliss, gaol dissenters and censor Internet without tampering from annoying administrative officials, tribunals. “ 3
Indeed, China ‘s population count stands at an estimation of 1,330,141,2954 as of July 2010. With such a immense population, it is the universe ‘s most populated state. It can besides be seen in the manner that 1 out of every 5 human being in the planet is from China. It is agreeable that holding such a big population can be both a blessing and a curse to China ‘s advancement. Having a large population would intend that China can be assured of a big consumer market and labour force to back up its economical growing. China would besides hold a large adequate ground forces to protect her. However, overpopulation will ensue if the state is non able to equilibrate the ratio of population to available sustainable resources therefore taking to countless societal and economical jobs.
For the past 50 old ages, China introduced many policies to control the exponentially turning population. The most good known policy would be the One-Child Policy. Other factors that would act upon the alteration in demographics on China include immigration/emigration and wellness criterions.
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1 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.forbes.com/wealth/powerful-people/gallery, assessed on 5th November 2010
2 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.2point6billion.com/news/2010/11/05/hu-no-1-obama-no-2-in-forbes-list-of-powerful-people-7924.html, assessed on 5th November 2010
3,4 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.forbes.com/profile/jintao-hu, assessed on 5th November 2010
Population Change in China over 50 Old ages
For the past 50 old ages, China has seen a singular alteration in its population growing. Back in 1960, China has an estimated population of 662,000,0005 with a entire birthrate rate of 5.476. As mentioned earlier, China in the twelvemonth 2010 has an estimated population of 1,330,000,000. However, there has been a drastic lessening in the entire birthrate rate of merely an estimated of 1.5407. In Table 1 below, it records the major demographic statistics for the People ‘s Republic of China. In by and large, it can be seen that there are 4 chief phases in the development of China ‘s population from 1960 to 2010. These 4 chief phases are viz. a population roar before 1960, followed by a diminution in the rate of population growing till 1962, followed by a 2nd period of population growing till 1972 and in conclusion another period of diminution in population growing from 1973 to the present.
Table 1 Major Demographic Statistics for the People ‘s Republic of China
Year
Entire Population
Crude Birth Rate
Crude Death Rate
Rate of Natural Increase
Percentage Urban
Entire Fertility Rate
A
( million )
( per 1000 )
( per 1000 )
( per 1000 )
A
A
1960
662
20.9
25.4
-4.5
19.75
5.469
1965
725
37.88
9.5
28.38
17.98
5.872
1970
830
33.43
7.6
25.83
17.38
5.512
1975
924
23.01
7.32
15.69
17.34
3.783
1980
987
18.21
6.34
11.87
19.39
2.632
1985
1059
21.04
6.78
14.26
23.71
2.639
1990
1143
21.06
6.67
14.39
26.41
2.336
1995
1205
17.12
6.57
10.55
31.4
1.866
2000
1263
14.03
6.45
7.58
35.8
1.767
2005
1304
–
6.51
–
40.4
1.759
2010
1330
–
–
–
–
1.540
Beginnings: The World Bank hypertext transfer protocol: //data.worldbank.org/country/china ; China: The Many Aspects of Demographic Change, Calvin. G, Alice. G, Feng. W. Published by Westview Press. Colorado. The Many Aspects of Change And Their Interrelations, 1950-1990 page 6
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5 China: The Many Aspects of Demographic Change, Calvin. G, Alice. G, Feng. W. Published by Westview Press. Colorado. The Many Aspects of Change And Their Interrelations, 1950-1990 page 6
6 China: The Many Aspects of Demographic Change, Calvin. G, Alice. G, Feng. W. Published by Westview Press. Colorado. The Many Aspects of Change And Their Interrelations, 1950-1990 page 6
7 hypertext transfer protocol: //data.un.org/Data.aspx? q=china & A ; d=PopDiv & A ; f=variableID % 3A54 % 3BcrID % 3A156 % 2C948, assessed on 6th November 2010
One Child Policy
The One-Child Policy in China was implemented in 1979. It was one of the most ambitious and controversial societal execution in the whole history of China. The chief purpose of the policy was to control the exponentially increasing population growing rate and, it works by carrying twosomes non to hold more than one kid through the usage of punishments and wagess. The Chinese authorities at that clip saw rigorous population containment as the indispensable thrust to economic and societal betterments. It is of import to observe that by the clip the One-Child Policy was conceived and implemented, China has had an already immense population base of one billion people8. At that clip, the immense population had caused a monolithic force per unit area on the state ‘s substructure. There were serious lodging deficits, hapless public transit services, developing communicating installations and unequal instruction establishments.
There was a strong demand for the Chinese authorities to undertake these at hand jobs at manus.
In table 2, it charts the birthrate rate over the period of 1960 to 2008. From the graph it can be seen that the One-Child Policy was non the biggest factor in conveying down the whole birthrate rate in China. However, it was the One-Child Policy that kept the rebounding of the birthrate rate back to the sky high rate in the sixtiess.
Birthrate Rate
Table 2 Entire Fertility Rate for the People ‘s Republic of China
Year
Beginning: The World Bank hypertext transfer protocol: //data.worldbank.org/country/china
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8 China: The Many Aspects of Demographic Change, wang Feng. Published by Westview Press. Colorado. A Decade of the One-Child Policy: Accomplishments and Deductions, 1950-1990 page 98
It was besides the plants of the One-Child Policy that allowed China to confront a much slower addition in population throughout the old ages. In a particular interview that was conducted by China.org.cn in twelvemonth 2002 with Mr Zhao Bingli, frailty curate of the State Family Planning Commission, Mr Zhao Bingli was quoted stating
“ After 30 old ages of attempts, exponential population growing has been efficaciously controlled, and some 300 million births have been prevented. Under undeveloped economic fortunes and in a comparatively short period of clip, the state has realized a unusually low birth rate. “ 9
This shows that with the execution of the One-Child Policy did hinder and act upon the population alteration of China.
Immigration/Emigration
Human migration would besides play a portion in act uponing a state ‘s population demographics. There would be a dip in the state ‘s population if a big figure of citizens are traveling out and go forthing their native state. In China ‘s instance, population migration has a clear physical nexus between China and the international economic system. In the past 50 old ages or so, China has seen a singular addition in migration volume of its people.
During the period get downing from 1960s to early 1970s, the chief flow out of China was to Hong Kong with near to 10,00010 individuals a twelvemonth motion. The chief ground for the Chinese to seek abode outside their native state could be to seek better employment chances or to seek better life conditions.
China has besides been actively directing her pupils abroad for developing in assistance of easing the transportation of cognition back place. By 1990s, China was the major beginning of foreign pupils in United States, Australia and Canada collages11. This is of import because of the big figure of Chinese pupils abroad and the figure of pupils that really return back to China after their surveies. Harmonizing to official Chinese beginnings, merely about one tierce of the 220,00012 Chinese pupils has since returned back to China from 1979.
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9 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Oct/46138.htm, assessed on 09 November 2010
10,11,12 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/a104/china/chinamigration4.htm, assessed on 09 November 2010
Improved wellness criterions
In Table 1 above, it can be seen that there has been a drastic lessening in the rough decease rate from 1960 to 2010 in China. The rough decease rate is important in measuring a population alteration in any state. Having a lessening in rough decease rate would intend that there is an betterment in medical engineering, wellness attention services, and nutrition and transit developments.
Peoples in China are populating longer and holding a longer life anticipation due to the betterment in wellness criterions. With the low birthrate rate due to the execution of the One-Child Policy and an addition in life anticipation, China ‘s population would shortly hold an instability figure of old to immature. This would ensue in the phenomenal of an aging population.
Table 3 Demographic Structure of the Chinese Population
Year
Entire Population
Number ( Millions )
Proportion ( Percentage )
Median
( Millions )
0-14
15-64
65+
0-14
15-64
65+
1953
567.45
205.48
336.57
25.04
36.38
59.31
4.41
22.8
1964
694.58
280.67
384.45
24.58
40.7
55.74
3.56
20.4
1982
1003.91
337.25
617.39
49.27
33.59
61.5
4.91
22.7
1990
1130.51
313
754.52
62.99
27.7
66.72
5.58
25.3
1995
1207.78
321.66
813.98
75.27
26.56
67.2
6.24
27.7
2000
1271.15
320.72
861.3
89.13
25.23
67.76
7.01
30.1
2005
1318.58
293.39
926.53
98.66
22.25
70.27
7.48
32.3
2010
1360.28
277.13
975.12
108.04
20.37
71.69
7.94
34.2
Beginning: Aging China: The Demographic Challenge to China ‘s Economic Prospects. Robert Stowe England. 2005. Published by Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C. Demographic Shapes the Society, page 16
Table 4 Youth and Older Dependency Ratios in China
Beginning: The US Census Bureau Report An Ageing Universe: 2008 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p95-09-1.pdf Page 96
In a Population Report of China in 2008, it was recorded that over 30 % of the full population in China were under the age of 20 with 10 % of the full population aged 60 and supra. By 2010, the babes born in the post-war babe roar will come in the aged sector, and this will ensue in a rapid growing in the elderly population. This is reflected by the addition in average age from 22.8 in 1953 to 34.2 in 2010, as shown in the Table 3 above.
