Couples can now have 3 kids in China, new policy changes announced

China announced on Monday that each couple would be allowed to have up to three children, a significant policy shift from the current limit of two children after census data showed a tense drop in births.

The policy change was established during a politburo conference on Monday chaired by President Xi Jinping, the official news agency Xinhua reported, without telling when the transition takes effect.

As per the latest census, China's population grew at its most inactive in the last decade since the 1950s. Its population increased by just 0.53 per cent to reach 1.41178 billion, up from 1.4 billion in 2019.

As per reports, the estimates are suspected to decrease from early next year, starting to labour deficits and a fall in consumption levels.

Earlier this month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published the seventh national population census. As per these numbers, China is facing a demographic crisis, and it is expected to deepen in years to come.

In its report, the NBS stated, "The further ageing of the population forced continued influence on the long-term stable development of the population in the coming period."

According to the report, the number of people aged between 15 and 59 was 894 million, reduced by 6.79 percentage points from that in the 2010 census.

The increase rate of the population was 0.53 per cent yearly on average in the seventh census conducted last year, while it was 0.57 per cent in the sixth census in 2010 and 1.07 per cent in the fifth census held in 2000.