Structural imbalances in population
By Mu Guangzong | China Daily | Updated: 2012-07-17 08:04
The nation's low birthrate is an increasingly severe problem that will accelerate the aging of the population, increase the pension shortfall, and aggravate the gender imbalance.
According to statistics from the Sixth National Census released in April 2011, the country's birthrate in the past decade has become one of the lowest in the world.
In 1979, youngsters under the age of 14 accounted for one-third of the total population, but by 2010, they accounted for less than 16.6 percent. The family planning authorities are worried about a baby boom if they relax the family planning policy. However, a no-birth culture has become popular among young people of marriageable age who were born in the 1980s and 1990s.
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