National Population Policies

Due to the pressures of population change, some countries have devised population policies which they hope will enable them to make the relevant changes to their population.

China- the problem of a rapidly increasing population

The population of China rapidly increased during its industrial revolution.

It is now said that 1 in 6 people in the world is of Chinese origin.

Due to this the Chinese Government, decided that they would limit couples to having one child as opposed to the original policy of two children per couple.

The government introduced the policy in the hope that the population would stabilize in the 21st century.

The policy is very strict and it is illegal for couples to have more than one child.

It is reported that families have been fined and forced abortions and sterilisations have been performed.

The policy has been successful in the city but not so in the rural areas, as farmers want to have larger families so that children can help out with work.

The government offered lots of incentives to families such as free education, priority housing and pension benefits.

The Shetlands- the problems of a decreasing population

People in the Shetlands have been so worried about the dwindling population that they have actually advertised for people to move to the islands.

They advertised for younger families as they felt that this would help encourage future population growth.

They encouraged people to move by advertising the benefits such as no pollution, fresh air, crime free and low taxes.