Q.What were the results of the 'One Child Norm' in China ?

This question has two alternatives (OR); both are answered in full below.

PART 1 - Main question: What were the results of the 'One Child Norm' in China?

China's One Child Norm (1979 onwards) successfully slowed population growth, but its results also included a severely skewed male-female sex ratio, an ageing population with a shrinking working-age base, and social problems around the 'only child' generation - leading China to relax the policy in 2015 and remove it in 2021.

1. Sharp decline in population growth rate: The policy succeeded in its primary aim - China's birth rate and overall population growth rate fell substantially over the following decades.

2. Skewed sex ratio: Because of a strong cultural preference for male children and the one-child restriction, many families selectively favoured sons, resulting in a significantly skewed (male-biased) sex ratio at birth.

3. Ageing population and shrinking workforce: With fewer children being born over a long period, the proportion of elderly people in China's population rose sharply relative to the working-age population, creating a looming problem of supporting a large elderly population with a shrinking labour force (the '4-2-1' family structure - four grandparents and two parents supported by one child).

4. Social consequences: The policy also led to issues like an unregistered population (children born in violation of the policy, sometimes left unregistered) and concerns about the psychological/social effects of only-child upbringing.

Because of these demographic imbalances, China relaxed the policy to a two-child norm in 2015, and abolished birth limits altogether in 2021, in an attempt to counter the ageing crisis and shrinking workforce.

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