The underlying logic of China's 1.4 billion population liberalization of population policy

Why did China only have 1 billion people in the 1980s, but the country "felt it was too much"?

And now China has become an economic power with a population of 1.4 billion, why does the country feel it is "too little"?

Different era background

In the 1880s, China was in the initial stage of reform and opening up. China was in the transition period from planned economy to market economy, and private enterprises were in the initial stage.

In the 1980s, China focused on national development on the economy, but many private enterprises lacked autonomy, and some managers were irresponsible and not active, so the enterprises developed slowly.

In addition, many enterprises blindly selected projects, and many projects ended in failure, causing China to take many detours on the road of economic development.

There were problems with the national economy, and China was facing many problems at that time, mainly food shortages and underdeveloped agriculture.

Due to China's poor economic conditions, the country did not have advanced equipment and technology in agriculture, and could only provide manual labor compared to developed countries.

At that time, the demand for grain production was far greater than the supply for a country with a population of 1 billion.

So in the context of that era, 1 billion people was also a huge number for China, after all, China did not have enough economic capacity and food resources at that time.

But now, China's economic level is in a stage of rapid development, and China is vigorously promoting urbanization. Rural and urban areas are developing and progressing together, and the gap between urban and rural areas is getting smaller and smaller under the promotion of the Chinese government.

In addition, most of China's agricultural products have gotten rid of the shortage they once had, and farmers' income and quality of life have also improved.

In order to avoid food crises, China will also stockpile food regularly to prepare for emergencies.

At present, the supply of various crops in China has exceeded the total national demand, and the era of lack of clothing and food is getting farther and farther away from us.

Different material conditions

In the 1980s, in addition to the economy, China's infrastructure was relatively backward.

Due to the shortage of materials, in terms of education, the classroom environment of everyone's school was simple, there were few teachers, and the family did not pay attention to cultivating their children's academic studies. Many people did not go to school after graduating from elementary school. If a village had a college student, it would definitely cause a sensation in the whole village.

In terms of medical care, our country's medical technology was backward at that time, and there were no advanced equipment, which led to many people being sick but unable to be treated.

At that time, the implementation of family planning was also for the needs of human production and development.

Because the natural growth rate of China's population did not match the economic development rate of China at that time, the growth of human beings had exceeded the production of living materials, which was a very dangerous thing for China.

In order to adapt to the actual situation in China at that time, the population must be controlled.

Otherwise, it will reduce people's quality of life, and social contradictions such as difficulty in education, employment, and medical treatment will arise.

Now China has developed very well in all aspects, and there has been a qualitative leap in food, clothing, housing and transportation.

In the past, people did not dare to think about going out for travel or going out for research, and bicycles were the most commonly used means of transportation.

But now the means of production are abundant, and educational resources, medical resources, transportation, diet and other aspects have made great progress compared to before. China is no longer troubled by these problems, so the population policy has been relaxed, encouraging second and third births.

Population aging problem

In 1982, the proportion of China's population aged 0-14 was about 33%, and the proportion of the elderly over 65 was about 5%. This result shows that China had already stepped out of the ranks of young countries and entered the ranks of adult countries. And according to relevant data, the growth rate of China's elderly population at that time was already relatively fast, and China gradually entered the ranks of aging countries.

In 1999, China entered an aging society.

By the end of 2022, the national population aged 60 and above will have reached more than 100 million, accounting for 12.5% of the total population.

Based on existing data, experts infer that this figure will reach 24% in 2030.

As the aging of the population becomes more and more severe, China will face many challenges.

First of all, the health of the elderly is definitely not as good as that of the young, and their demand for medical care is very large, especially in recent years, as the quality of life has improved, many people suffer from hypertension and diabetes.

China must use complete medical conditions to deal with this problem.

There are many elderly people who are too old and their families are unable to take care of them. At this time, the government needs to come forward to establish some public welfare nursing homes and other nursing institutions to ensure the normal operation of the elderly's lives.

The insurance industry must also introduce some clauses for the medical and living aspects of the elderly to provide living security for the elderly.

In addition to the problems mentioned above, the negative impact of population aging is far more than that.

Population aging will hinder China's economic development to a certain extent. After all, the consumption level of the elderly is limited, and China's economic development needs more young people to drive it.

So, although we feel that the number of 1.4 billion is already an astronomical figure, there are many social problems brought about by China's aging population. In order to change this situation as soon as possible, China vigorously promotes second and third births.

Although China's current situation requires that the government encourages everyone to have more children, as mentioned above, the cost of having children in China is currently very high.

In order to enable everyone to cooperate with national policies and respond to national calls, the country should introduce more preferential welfare policies.

Some regions have subsidies for having second and third children, but this policy has not been promoted nationwide.

The country should start from education, housing, medical care and other aspects, and give benefits to young people in earnest, so that more young people will have the courage to have children.