More than a billion Chinese

2005-01-03 10:25

Beijing - The population in China, the world's most populous nation, will officially hit 1.3 billion this week, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on Monday, citing government figures.

The country's population has been close to 1.3 billion of the world's more than six billion people and has been rounded up to that figure in recent years.

Xinhua said but it would officially reach that exact number only by Thursday, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) calculations.

State media credited the government's population-control policies over the past 30 years for delaying the date of arrival at the 1.3 billion figure by four years.

"However, the country would face new and severe challenges with its population climbing to the level of 1.3 billion," Xinhua quoted an official with the State Commission for Population and Family Planning saying.

The huge population is putting pressure on already insufficient natural resources and jobs.

Forced sterilisations and abortions

It is expected to increase by about 10 million people annually to reach a peak of 1.46 billion in the mid-2030s, state media had quoted population experts saying last year.

State media reports indicated the government did not plan to ease its birth control measures, including the controversial one-child policy that restricts many couples to having only one child.

Rural couples can have a second child if the first is a girl.

Violations of the one-child policy are met with harsh punishment including fines and the confiscation and destruction of property.

Critics charge the policy gives rise to abuses, including forced sterilisations and abortions as well as infanticide and abandonment of female babies by families who favour sons.

China does not include in its population figures Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, which are ruled separately but which it considers to be Chinese territory.

- AFP