--- title: "China Now Allows Couples to Have Three Children" description: "China's government announced on Monday that couples are allowed to have a third child, signaling concerns over declining population growth." date: "2021-06-01" modified: "2021-06-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-three-child-policy" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "china" - "demographics" - "population" - "the digest" --- # China Now Allows Couples to Have Three Children ![China's government announced on Monday that couples are allowed to have a third child, signaling concerns over declining population growth.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Third Child China's government [announced on Monday]() that couples are allowed to have a third child, signaling concerns over declining population growth in the most populous country in the world. In 1980, China first implemented a one-child-per-household policy to ensure the government is able to keep up with a rapidly growing population. In 2015, the government announced it will allow couples to have two children. And how, in an increasingly desperate move to combat an aging population, families can have up to three kids. ## Big Drop The move comes after the COVID-19 pandemic caused birthrates to fall precipitously. In 2020 alone, the number of newborns in the country [dropped by 15 percent](). It's the fourth consecutive year the birth rate has fallen and the lowest population growth since the 1960s, [according to *The Economist*](). Many have [cited financial stresses]() as a reason they are not having any more children. Dropping birth rates could signal fewer workers, a consequence that has [economists in the country worried](). A rapidly aging population is also contributing to the problem. China's population is expected to [peak at around 1.4 billion in just four years]() according to a recent report. "We need to pay attention to the impact of demographics on future consumption," monetary policy committee of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Cai Fang said in an April statement, [according to the *South China Morning Post*](). ## Grow Up Critics are now arguing the three-child rule won't be contributing much to recovering the birth rate as the two-child policy also didn't appear to have much of an effect, [according to *Insider*](). According to an online poll by state-run news agency *Xinhua*, only five percent of respondents said they would consider having three children. The poll was later removed, [according to *Reuters*](). "A fully liberalized birth policy should have been implemented at least five years ago, but it's too late now, although its better late than never," Shuang Ding, chief economist at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, told *Reuters*. **READ MORE:** [Three-child policy: China lifts cap on births in major policy shift]() \[*Reuters*\] **More on China's population:** [China's Population to Peak in Four Years, Worrying Leaders]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()