Population Trends, Population Policy, and Population Studies in China

Recently available data confirm reports of a Chinese population of almost a billion with a very low death rate and a birth rate that has been halved in 15 years. Illustrative projections of the demographic implications of different trajectories of future fertility demonstrate that a cessation of growth by 2000 would require implausably low fertility and result in extremely unbalanced age distributions -- neither of which would be acceptable as policy goals. Such projections illustrate the value of demographic research in formulating Chinese population policies. Sparseness of existing Chinese resources in the social sciences and statistics however is a major hindrance to the growth of population science within the country. (Authors) (Summaries in ENG FRE SPA)