RESEARCH PAPER

Bangladesh should follow China’s one child policy to reduce its

overpopulation.

Submitted to:
Dr. Nadra Islam
Associate Professor
Department of English & Modern Languages
North South University

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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First and foremost I would like to thank my parents for their relentless support. My utmost
gratitude to Gazi tarek,my extraordinary friends,for his support in the paper. My deepest
appreciation to all the students who have participated in the survey, without them my research
would have been baseless. All my family and friends also deserve special thanks. Finally, thanks
to Ms. Nadra Islam who have guided me throughout the whole process and without whom this
would have not been possible.

Abstract

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The main objective of my research paper “Bangladesh should follow china’s one child policy to
reduce its overpopulation” is to discuss student viewing of this policy and its impact on them.
The area of Bangladesh is small in proportion to her vast population. As a result, it creates the
problem of food, shelter, health, nutrition, unemployment, treatment, communication and
illiteracy etc. Students agree that this policy will reduce our overpopulation, However, it has
some negative effect which create this policy controversial in the worldwide.

Table of Contents

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 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..5

2. BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………….6

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………………......7

4. HYPOTHESIS……………………………………………………………….8

5. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………..9

6. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS………………………………10

7. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS………………………………..15

8. RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………………16

9. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………….17

10. REFERENCES……………………………………………………………….18

INTRODUCTION
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To control the china’s rapidly growing population their government implied “one child policy”
in 1979. At the time it was approximately 970 million. Their leader Deng Xiaoping introduced
this policy. The policy mandated that Chinese people could only have one child. Their
Government gave incentives or rewards for family who adhere to the one-child policy. On the
other hand, those who did not follow the rules, they are subject to fines. Bangladesh is a small
country of 55598 sq. Miles but our population density is already five times higher than any other
mega country. Overpopulation is the main problem of Bangladesh. Population problem creates
food problem, education problem, communication problem, unemployment problem, shelter
problem, health problem, and environmental problem. Bangladesh's population has long ago
exceeded the combined population of Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Singapore. According
to Statista, In Bangladesh the total population is more than 164.88M and population growth is
1.05%. Moreover, we have to think about the future population growth of our country.
According to the United Nations Population Division (UN PD) released the 2004 revision of
population projections for all the countries of the world, there was a general agreement that
Bangladesh would reach 218 million by 2050 and finally stabilize at around 260 million in mid-
next century. For this large numbers of people, we do not have sufficient resources. We do not
have enough land even to properly house the existing population, let alone housing any
additional people.
Former Ambassador and Secretary Haque (2019) stated that “With population growth remaining
unbridled, no government can implement development programs and ensure their long-duration
benefits to people” (Rethinking the population problem, para.3). In our country over population
is the root of nearly all our socioeconomic agonies. However, in order to sustain and further
augment our socioeconomic progress, we need to make a sound and effective population policy.
The government should give a more priority in this issue. We should implement the “one child
policy” in our country. It may be difficult to achieve and sustain that balance, but solutions to a
complicated problem is never easy, although not unattainable. Uncontrolled and unmanaged
population is already an existential threat to our nation. According to Hauqe,” While many of
our neighbors are doing extremely well, progressing and consolidating their progress, we cannot
live under the shadow of an existential threat due to the still growing overpopulation.” Our
population is almost out of control. Bangladesh is the 7th most populous country in the world. I
strongly feel that Bangladesh should follow the china’s one child policy to control its
overgrowing population in the matter of progress in socioeconomic areas and other spheres.

Background
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China implied one child policy in 1979 which was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.
That time their population was about 972 million people. They implied it to restrict their
population growth and limited couples to having only one child. Chinese government charged
fines and pressured to abort a pregnancy of women accompanied second pregnancies. According
to professional geographer Matt,” They implied this policy only in urban areas and citizens
living in rural areas were not subject to the law.” (2018).
In 1949 china started promoting the use of birth control and family planning. By the late 1970’s
china’s population was quickly increasing the one-billion mark and their new leader Deng
Xiaoping was give serious consideration to control its population. First, they announced
voluntary program to encouraged families to have no more than two children. After that they
limited the family planning. Their central government applied the one child policy in their
country. The central committee of the Chinese communist party issued a public letter on
September 25,1980. That date is the “official” start date of this policy. In this program
exceptions were made-e.g., parents within some ethnic minority groups or if firstborn was
handicapped, they were allowed to have more than one child. Their government gave higher
wages, better schooling and employment, special health care and loans who obeyed the rule. On
the other hand, who violated the one-child policy, there were sanctions: fines, wage cuts,
employment termination, and less governmental assistance.
Most of the Chinese people also supported this policy. According to the survey in 2006, 76% of
the population in China supported the One Child Policy. For twins or triplet’s pregnancy
government did not enforced one child policy. This policy changed the traditional role of girls
and women in Chinese society. Families allowing girls to go to school, receive vocational
supports, and additional training opportunities. This program dramatically changed the quality of
life for the average woman in China.
However, this policy affects the birth rate, increased the adoption cost, created a practice called
birth tourism, and also violated the human rights. The latest drop in the birth rate, according to
demographer Chen Youhua from Nanjing University quoted in The South China Morning Post,
is due to a fall in the number of women of childbearing age. The Council on Foreign Relations
writes, "The fertility rate still drifts around 1.6, lower than the U.S. rate of 1.87. Even Brazil,
which has a similar GDP per capita to China, has a rate of 1.75. Furthermore, Chinese parents
have traditionally preferred boys over girls, leading to a massive gender imbalance. In 2017, men
outnumbered women by 33 million, and the male to female birth ratio was 115 boys for every
100 girls, one of the most skewed in the world."
In 2016, Chinese couples are allowed to have more than one child. China’s economic boom
change their people’s lifestyle and sent more than 100 million young men and women to college.
They inspired their peoples to pursue their economic goals.

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 Research Questions

This policy is very controversial in worldwide and it has some proven problems. So, this policy
should be analyzed very thoroughly. For this reason, I decide to thoroughly investigates aspects
of “One child Policy” and effects of implement in Bangladesh. Some of my questions include:

1) Do you think overpopulation is a problem?

2) What has overpopulation done to our country?
3) What do you think of China’s one-child policy?
4) What would you do if you were told you could only have one child?
5) If we introduce this policy in our country what type of barrier government will face?

Hypothesis

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Bangladesh should control its overgrowing population strictly. Otherwise country will be facing
more problems. I believe that China’s one child policy will be helpful for our country. By
introducing this law, we can easily control our population. In a long run, China got benefited
from this policy. Hence, I expect that most of the people will agree to the fact that Bangladesh
should follow china’s one child policy.

Bangladeshi people will also agree that this policy will create a positive impact on their lives.
They will get more benefits from government. Government will be able to distribute its resources
to people like cultivation land. Moreover, our country is very small. We do not have enough
resources. For example, our government unable to supply proper education and medical facilities
for existing population. Overpopulation will create more health-related problems. So, people will
not be able to skillful and energetic. However, some people will argue that one child policy will
affect human rights. These may include effect on labor shortage, fertility rate and birth rate.
However, I strongly believe that “One child policy” will be change the total scenario of
Bangladesh and people will be more benefitted in the long run. So, peoples will support the
implementation of china’s “one child policy” in Bangladesh.

Research Methodology
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For my primary research, I collected opinions from the NSU students and interviewed them
about their point of view of family planning and population control. I also designed a
questionnaire with different types of questions related to my research topic. The questions were
completed by a group of 35 students of whom there were 20 females and 15 males.
For my secondary research I collected information from various sources such as libraries and the
web. Most of my primary research in based on the web. The NSU library has also been
invaluable in finding books related to my topic. For looking up information on the internet, I will
use standard search engines such as GOOGLE, YAHOO etc. and also large reference sites and
news sites.

Data Presentation and Analysis

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I hosted a survey questioning various aspects on my topic. The collected data help me to draw
conclusions about my research topic. The data collected is presented and analyzed in the below.

In my first question, I asked students about do they think overpopulation is a problem for our
country? The results were as expected. Approximately, 70% of them said it is a very serious
issue, 25% reported overpopulation is not a problem, 5% said it does not really affect them. A
line graphs representing the data is given in Figure 1.

Figure1: Do you think overpopulation is a problem?

The data collected clearly shows the overpopulation is a serious problem for our country. We are
suffering for our uncontrollable population. It affects our economic growth. However, some may
think that population is not a problem at all because we are getting a cheap labor.

My second question is related with the affect of overpopulation. I questioned them “What has
overpopulation done to our country?” Most of them pointed about the traffic jam. Almost 50%
student said overpopulation creating a traffic jam, 30% said overpopulation increasing
unemployment rate, 28% reported it is creating crowded residencies and very less said about
birth control policy. A line graphs represent the information in figure 2.

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 60%

50%

Traffic Jam
40%
Birth Control Policy
30%
Unemployment

20%
Crowded Residences

10%

0%
What has overpopulation done to our country?

Figure 2: What has overpopulation done to our country?

Information from this question shows us the effect of overpopulation. It creates the traffic jam on
the road. It hampers our productivity at work time and university. For overpopulation
governments are unable to create more work opportunities for us. Day by day in our country
unemployment rate is increasing dramatically. It also increasing the highly crowded residencies
which creating a more chaos and environmental pollution.

The next question queries about the implementing the china’s one child policy in Bangladesh. I
asked them “What do you think of China’s one-child policy?” 48% answered it must be done in
our country ,29% said it is barbaric but it works,17% said very strict policy and have to give
more freedom and 6% totally against this policy. A pie chart representing the data is given in
figure 3.

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 Figure 3: What do you think of China’s one-child policy?

Some students are agreed for implementing this policy in Bangladesh and some are totally
disagreed with this policy. On the other hand, some are confused about this policy and they think
that this policy is very strict and barbaric.

In my third question, I questioned them will they follow this policy. 48% answered they will
obey this law,33% said they will be disappointed but they will follow the law, 7% said they will
protest against this law and only 2 % said they do not want children. A bar graph represents the
information in figure 4.

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 8% 2%

Obey, it must be done to save the

planet
I would be disappointed, but I
53% would obey the law
37% I would protest heavily for religious
and human rights
I don't want children

Figure 4: What would you do if you were told you could only have one child?

Most of them will follow this policy though some will be disappointed. On the other hand, few
students said they will protest against this policy because it will affect our human rights and this
is barbaric policy. They think that government will be stricter and also affect other right also.

In my last question I asked them will government face any problem if we introduce this policy in
Bangladesh.70% said religion based political parties would be disappointed,15% said people
would not obey the law,11% said people would protest against this policy and 4% think that
government will not face any problem for implementing this law. A bar graph represents the
information in figure 5.

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 11% 4%

15% Religion-based political parties

would be disappointed
People would not obey the law
People would protest heavily for
religious and human rights
Government would not face any
barriers.
70%

Figure 5: If we introduce this policy in our country what type of barrier government will face?

In our country, we have many religions based political party. They will protest against this law
and they are against the abortion or family planning. They will influence their followers against
this policy. In Bangladesh, normally we do not obey the rules and regulations. That’s why many
students said people will not follow this law. Another reason is in our country education rate is
very low. Peoples do not have idea about family planning.

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 Summary of Research Findings

The data I collected matched my hypothesis. Students are agreed with me that “one child policy”
will be more effective in our country. Most of them agree that overpopulation is a problem for
our country because our country is the most densely populated city in the world — nearly 20
million people live in the small metropolis. It is affecting our traffic system. Everyday we are
facing traffic congestion which wasting our productive time. It also hampers our business
transaction. As a result, it is affecting our economic growth. Moreover, overpopulation is one of
the major causes of unemployment problem in Bangladesh. Peoples are live in a crowded
residency which affecting their mental health due to environmental pollution. Day by day sound
pollution is increasing.

From the research we can also said that people will obey this policy because right now we have
to control our population. People are suffering everyday and they need relieve from this problem.
Though some people will be disappointed but they will follow this policy. Without peoples
support and help government cannot implement this policy. However, some people said that this
law is against the law and barbaric. Some said they will protest against this law.

Implementing a new policy is not easy task. There are many constitutional bodies are related
with government. In our country, religion based political party will not follow this law and they
will inspire their followers to protest against this law. It will create political unrest which will
affecting our economic development. Moreover, our peoples are not enough educated about
family planning. So, they will not obey the law.

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 Recommendations

From the data collected in my research it is evident that “one child policy” can help us to reduce
our overpopulation. Before implementing this policy Government should study this policy more
deeply because this policy is controversial. We should educate our population about family
planning. Moreover, government has to ensure proper medical treatment. If people think that
they will be benefited through this policy they will be more careful and will obey the law. China
government gave their population to many incentives who followed this policy. So, Bangladesh
government has to ensure the incentives for population. China’s government pressured to abort a
pregnancy of women accompanied second pregnancies, but, our government should not do this
kind of activities. We can follow this policy for certain period of time, for example, we can
imply this law for 10-12 years. However, for calculating the time we have to do more extensive
research.

However, every policy has good and bad effect. Government has to be more careful about this
policy. Only implementing this policy will not change the scenario, government have to take
other necessaries actions also.

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 Conclusions

According to world population review, Bangladesh is expected to reach a population of 170

million by 2020, and 186 million by 2030.On the other hand, the surface area in our country is
currently at 147,570 km² (or 56,977 square miles). So, if we are unable to control our birth rates,
we will be facing great problems. So, for the sack of cheap labor, we cannot avoid the family
planning. Cheap labor will help us in a short run but in a long run it will damage our economy,
because we need more skillful labor to compete in the world market.
In conclusion “one child policy” has both positive and negative impacts. Although it has some
negative effects, this policy will help us to control our overpopulation.

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 REFERENCES
1. United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division. World population
projections to 2150 New York, NY: United Nations, 1998. p.41.

2. Rahman M, DaVanzo J, Razzaque A. Do better family planning services reduce abortion in Bangladesh?
, 2001. [Google Scholar]

3. Bairagi R. Effects of sex preference on contraceptive use, abortion and fertility in Matlab, Bangladesh.
Int Family Plan Perspect. 2001.[Google Scholar]

4. Haque, M. A. (2016, July 10). Rethinking the population problem. Retrieved from
https://www.thedailystar.net

5. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://archive.thedailystar.net/forum/2012/July/population.htm.

6. Streatfield, P. K., & Karar, Z. A. (2008, September). Population challenges for Bangladesh in the coming
decades. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2740702/#B1.

7. Population Problem in Bangladesh is the main issue to solve. (2015, September 20). Retrieved from
https://www.mediabangladesh.net/population-problem-bangladesh/.

8.Wang, F., Gu, B., & Cai, Y. (2016, July 28). The end of China's one-child policy. Retrieved from
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-end-of-chinas-one-child-policy/.

9. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). The Effects of China's One-Child Policy. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/story/the-effects-of-chinas-one-child-policy.

10. Rosenberg, M. (2018, January 31). Did You Know China's One-Child Policy Has Changed? Retrieved
from https://www.thoughtco.com/chinas-one-child-policy-1435466.

11. Chief, E. in. (n.d.). 12 Pros and Cons of China One Child Policy. Retrieved from https://vittana.org/12-
pros-and-cons-of-china-one-child-policy.

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