China's population and family planning minister said in Beijing
on Friday that China will work to limit its mainland population
below 1.37 billion by 2010.
Zhang
Weiqing, minister in charge of the National Population and
Family Planning Commission, stressed that China will keep its
family planning policy in place to maintain a low birth level.
"But demographically speaking, China will face another upsurge
of population growth in the coming five years, and China's first
single-child generation is about to enter reproductive age then,
which make it all the more difficult to maintain a low birth level
in the coming years," said Zhang.
Statistics from the commission show that China's population has
been brought under control in the past 5 years, with birth rate and
natural growth rate dropped from 14.03 per thousand to 12.29 per
thousand and 7.58 per thousand to 5.87 per thousand
respectively.
According to data released by commission, given China failed to
implement the family planning policy, China's population would be
nearly 400 million more than the present figure.
Zhang said China will continue to improve its legal system on
population in an effort to work out laws and regulations to manage
unbalanced sex ratio at birth.
Government figures show 119 boys are born for every 100 girls in
the world's most populous nation. About 40 million men may live as
frustrated bachelors by 2020.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2006)