China's Population Policies: A Demographic Time Bomb Unveiled

• China's population has shrunk for the fourth consecutive year, with the birth rate falling to its lowest since 1949.
• Decades of population control, including the one-child policy (1980), reshaped family choices and led to a demographic crisis.
• Strict enforcement of the one-child policy in the 1990s resulted in sex-selective abortions and a gender imbalance.
• By the early 2000s, falling fertility rates led to rapid aging and labor shortages, with illegal markets for baby girls emerging.
• Despite easing to two-child (2015) and three-child (2021) policies, birth numbers continue to decline, signaling a sustained demographic shift.

Why It Matters: China's stringent population policies have led to an irreversible demographic decline and societal challenges.