A
China has announced it’s abolishing(废除)its one-child policy. What difference has it made, statistically speaking?
400 million births prevented
The one-child policy, officially in place since 1979, has prevented 400 million births. Parents have faced fines and other punishments for having more children.
The majority of the decrease in China’s fertility rate(生育率) happened in the 1970s. It dropped from 5. 8 children per woman in 1970 to 2. 7 in 1978. Despite the one-child policy the rate had only fallen to 1. 7 by 2013.
21:28 baby death rate
Since the one-child policy was introduced, baby girls have become more likely to die than boys.
In the 1970s, according to the United Nations, 60 baby boys per 1, 000 live births died under the age of one. For girls the figure was 53. In the 1980s, after the one-child policy became official, the rate for both was 36. By the 1990s, 26 boys per 1,000 live births died before the age of one and 33 girls. The 2000s saw 21 boys per 1,000 live births dying and 28 girls.
1.16 boys born for every girl
Sexually selective abortions have been considered as a major cause of China’s unusual sexual imbalance.
Gietel-Basten, associate professor in social policy at Oxford University, says the births of many girls are not registered if parents have broken the rule by having two children, adding officials often turn a blind eye. It’s estimated there are now 33 million more men than women in China.
4: 2: 1 families
With the ageing of China’s population and the continuation of the one-child policy, a “4: 2: 1” home is the description given to households in which there are four grandparents cared for by two working age parents, who themselves have one child.
By 2050, it’s predicted that a quarter of China’s population will be 65 or older. The predicted decrease in the number of people of working age is thought to have persuaded the government to drop the one-child policy.
21. When was the baby death rate for both boys and girls equal?
A. In the 1970s. B. In the 1980s. C. In the 1990s. D. In the 2000s.
22. What makes the one-child policy abolished according to the passage?
A. The decrease of birth rate.
B. The rise of baby death rate.
C. The change of family structure.
D. The decrease of working age people.
23. What effects has the one-child policy had?
A. About 400 million girl births have been prevented.
B. More baby girls have been born.
C. There are many more men than women in China now.
D. There is a rise in the baby boy deaths.
