DEMOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF CHINA

With over 1 billion people, China is home to about 1/6 of all of humanity. Chinese culture and civilization have roots traceable to at least 4,000 years ago. It is the world's oldest continuous national culture and civilization. China's total area is about 3.6 million square miles, which is just slightly larger than the area of the United States including Alaska. Its physical geography is very complex, but in general it has deserts and mountains in the west and well-watered low plains in the east. China's population distribution corresponds to this general physical pattern--the wetter, lower, eastern part is densely settled and the drier, higher, western part is sparsely settled.

Until recently, China was far from modern sources of industrial innovation and change, but over recent decades the country has been developing rapidly. It is transforming its economy through industrialization and integration into the global economy. In 1997, the highly prosperous former British colony, Hong Kong, was returned to China.

In 1950, China's total population was about 550 million people. Mao Zedong, China's leader and Chairman of the Communist Party from 1949 to 1976, encouraged population growth. By 1976, China's population had grown to over 900 million. After Mao's death, China embarked on a vigorous population-control program. Families were ordered to have only one child. They were penalized through taxes, education, and housing policies for having more than one child. The "One-Child Policy" was an attempt to reduce population growth and to raise the standard of living within the country.

After the One-Child Policy was enacted in 1979, China's leaders toughened the policy to force families to have fewer children. This led to terrible consequences, such as female infanticide, because boys are favored over girls in Chinese tradition. Some experts estimated that as many as 500,000 girls were missing" on the average each year from 1985 to 1987 (Yuan Tien et al., 1992).

China's One-Child Policy was relaxed by government leaders during the late-1980s. But the 1990 census revealed higher than expected population growth, so the government again tried to toughen enforcement of limits on family size. Current rules (in 2000) limit most urban couples to one child, while rural residents may have two children. But the government has not been able to implement and enforce its policies and rules evenly throughout the country (Population Reference Bureau 2000). In the west, where many of China's ethnic minorities are found, enforcement has been particularly ineffective.

It is estimated that by 2050, China's population will be about 1.5 billion. Over the course of the next 50 years, it is also expected that China will dramatically improve its industrial infrastructure and experience rapid economic growth. This will most likely affect its population growth and age-sex composition.

To gain a better picture of China's population and development patterns, Click here for an interactive presentation that compares two different places in China: a rural village in China's interior and a bustling city on the coast. As your team views the presentation, take note of evidence that suggests how economic development affects the size and structure of populations within China.