As the most populous country in the world, China’s demographic challenges have always been too many people for ecological system, resources, and the environment. However, by the early 1990s, fertility rate in China had dropped below the replacement level, and China’s low fertility has now attracted the world’s attention. This book is among the first studies to raise and examine questions on low fertility in China, believing that China has entered a new era featured by low birth rate and ageing population. Utilizing advanced research methods and models on low fertility to analyze China’s census data, this book explores the issues from various perspectives. Methodologies employed in past population studies, policy making concerning fertility rate, underreporting of births and fertility rate estimates, fertility level of the migrant population, current population pattern, long-term population trends, population dynamics, and many other thought-provoking problems are covered. Finally, the book revisits China’s population issues in the context of globalization. The 21st century has seen the new challenge of persistent population decrease and ageing worldwide, which, along with economic globalization, demands a new understanding of the changes in population pattern and their consequences. Researchers and students in China’s demographic and social studies will be attracted by the insightful analysis and rich materials provided in the book. Population policy makers will also benefit from it.

China has the largest population in the world. However, according to the United Nations, India and China are expected to simultaneously reach a population of approximately 1.38 billion by 2030, with India taking a slight lead. China will be all too happy to surrender its position as the country with the largest population. Where does this attitude come from? For China, this situation is symbolic of the solution to the excessive population and a milestone in the “Three-Stage” population development strategy, as well as the people’s hope. In order to realize this hope, it firstly depends on the transformation from the previous high birth rate, high death rate, and low growth rate of population, to a high birth rate, low death rate, and high growth rate, and finally to a low birth rate, low death rate, and low growth rate. It also relies on the “post-demographic transition” to a low fertility level since the 1990s, and secondly, is closely related to the population change in the future. Therefore, in-depth studies on population and the development of population, resources, environment, economy, and society should be conducted on the basis of fresh experiences and theories from the international community, in order to move forward with the times to promote the solution to the population problem and realize the dream of rejuvenating the Chinese nation. As a result, population change is linked to this great rejuvenation, as the great rejuvenation requires the population change and, in turn, the population change facilitates the great rejuvenation.

In this comprehensive analysis of thirty-five years of population change in the People's Republic of China, the author highlights China's shifting population policies and pieces together the available data, assessing and adjusting them as necessary in order to discover the actual population changes.

This book examines China’s fertility transition over the past seven decades and explores the socioeconomic impacts of the two-child policy. The first half of this book highlights the characteristics of China’s low fertility and the risk of falling to an ultra-low state, aiming to answer the question: How China’s fertility is changing and evolving? How low is China’s fertility? What are the demographic structure, driving forces and institutional characteristics of China’s low fertility? The second half models the impacts of the two-child policy on China’s population trends and demands for women, infant and child health services, and education resources for preschool, compulsive education, addressing the questions of how the two-child policy affects fertility behaviours of Chinese women, particularly the second-child fertility? How would the two-child policy impact China’s future population trends, particularly labour supply and population aging? What are the consequences for obstetrics and gynaecological services, paediatrics and childcare services; and for school capacity and demand for teachers over compulsory education? The book will be an essential read for students and scholars of Chinese studies, population and demography studies, and those interested in contemporary China.