CAMBRIDGE AS GEOGRAPHY - CASE STUDY: CHINA'S ONE CHILD POLICY.

1. CHINA’s ONE CHILD POLICY
EXAM CASE STUDY
AS GEOGRAPHY – POPULATION

2. SYLLABUS
This case study follows
precisely the Cambridge AS
2019 syllabus requests for
one of the “Population” case
studies.
Candidates must study one
country’s population policy
regarding natural increase,
showing the difficulties faced
and evaluate the attempted
solutions.
This case study must include
attempts to alter the natural
increase rate (China’s one
child policy) and to manage
the results of population
change (the increase in
Yemen’s population and the
lack of food).

3. ONE CHILD POLICY
The Chinese one-child per family policy ran from 1979 to 2015.
The aim was to reduce the rate of population growth because the
government could see that at prevailing rates of growth the country
would face shortages of food and other resources in the future.
The population had risen from 550 million in 1950 to nearly 1000
million in 1979, a much greater increase than any country in the world.
The reason for this growth was because of the falling death rate, with
the life expectancy rising from 36 (1950) to 67 (1979).

5. POPULATION PLANNING AND GROWTH
Chinese planners estimated that the optimum population for China
was 700 million and the plan was to reduce the population to that
level by 2080.
During the 1960’s the government had encouraged couples to have
children so by 1979 there were huge numbers of people coming into
child-bearing age.
Even if each couple had only one child there were so many of them
that the population was set to grow rapidly for some years to come.

7. INCENTIVES
The rules were that no woman could marry under the age of 20, that
in order to have a baby a permit was required and permits would
only be granted to pregnant without a licence she would be
‘encouraged’ to have an abortion.
Women were given free contraception and pre-natal classes.
Individual areas were set targets for enforcing these rules.
If a woman managed to have a child with a licence, that child would
receive free nursery care and education.

9. PUNISHMENTS
Women with one child would be sterilised!
If a woman went on to have a second child without a licence the
couple would face a severe fine, but there were no penalties for
having twins.
The policy was largely applied to urban areas.
In rural areas couples were allowed two children but with a two-year
gap.

11. EFFICACY
The policy worked only because China had long been a country where
the government had a big influence over the daily lives of people
and most were accepting of the government’s rulings.
Decisions by the government could be enforced by provincial
governments and by the nominated leaders in state-owned factories
and farms.
Even at street level women known as the “granny police” were
chosen to check that local couples were following the new rules.

13. RESULTS OF THE POLICY cont.
The birth rate fell dramatically.
Between 1979 and 2011, 200 to 400 million births that would have
happened were prevented.
It is now thought that the population will peak at around 1.4 billion
in 2030 and then fall.
Because many couples preferred a boy to a girl many baby girl babies
were aborted of killed at birth or given away for adoption.
As a result there are now 117 boys for every 100 girls.
Most children have no brothers, sisters, cousins or aunt/uncles.

15. TWO-CHILD POLICY
In 2013 the rules were relaxed and more couples were permitted to
have two children. Just few chose to do so.
Since 1979 China has become much more educated and children are
expensive.
The government that so few young people will have to support so
many old people, and in 2015 the two-child policy became universal.