Population Growth and

Economic Development
The Case of China
The Population of China
 China is the world’s most populous country
with more than 1.3 billion people

 China represents 20% of the world’s entire

population

 As recently as 1950, China's population was a

mere 563 million. The population grew
dramatically through the following decades to
one billion in the early 1980s.
 To limit China’s population, Chinese leader
Deng Xiaoping established the One Child
Policy, which limits couples to only one child

 The rule has been estimated to have reduced

population growth by as much as 300 million
people over its first 20 years
Pros and Cons of One Child Policy

Pros:
 Poverty Eradication
 Lowering of fertility rates
 Alleviates social, economical and

environmental problems in China

Cons:
 Human rights violations
 Forced abortions
 The 4-2-1 Problem
Economic Development
 The urbanization process of China is faster
than expected, with 50% of the total
population living in urban environment

 The increasing level of urbanization is good

for economic growth. It means that rural
labor is migrating from the low productivity
of agricultural areas to the higher
productivity of modern manufacturing and
and service industry zones
 A reduction in the labor force will affect the
potential growth rate which is predicated on
the consistent supply of workers, capital and
productivity. Over the past 30 years, China’s
economic growth has been around 10% per
year
Three Factors Affecting China’s Economic
Growth:

1.) Rapid growth of labor supply

2.) Capital resources founded on high domestic

savings rates

3.) Rising efficiency of production

 The Chinese economy grew 9.2 percent in
2011, compared with 10.4 percent in 2010.
China accounted for about one quarter of
global growth in 2011 but its market was too
small to offset poor US and European demand
to boost the global economy
 GDP for China in 2010 was $5.88 trillion ahead
of Japan’s $5.45 billion. GDP in China was $4.91
trillion in 2009, compared to $14 trillion in the
United States. Per capita GDP in China is one
seventh that of the United States

 China’s GDP growth rate from 2008 to 2012 is

estimated to be 9.3%

Source: AP, Wall Street Journal