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Population
China, with over 1.3 billion people as of May 2007, is the most populous
country in the world. According to 2004 census, the sex ratio is about 51.5%
male and 48.5% female. Over 40% of the population lives in the urban cities
and towns and the rest is in the countryside and rural areas.
Family Planning
China has nearly twenty percent of the world's total population. In order
to control rapid population growth and to ensure quality of life, '”family
planning” has become one of important central government policies since
1978. As another measure to avoid being over populated, the government also
encourages late age marriage and postponing birth to child. In 1979, China
became the first country to adopt the “one child per couple” policy. However,
for those who endure more strenuous lives in countryside and where there
is a greater need for labors, the families are allowed to have their second
baby several years after the birth to the first one. A more liberal policy
is followed in the ethnic minority areas, where in generally each family
could have two children, or three in some special cases. For extremely under-populated
minorities, there are no birth control policies in effect.
Ethnic Groups
China is a multiracial country consisting of 56 ethnic groups, the majority
group is called Han, which contributes to over ninety percent of China's
total population, while less than ten percent are divided into fifty minority
groups. Although the Chinese minorities take up small populations, they
are widely distributed throughout the country. Yunnan Province is the most
multi-national region that is the home to twenty five ethnic minority groups.
Most minority groups have their own religious beliefs. In modern China,
the freedom of religion is highly respected and legally protected.
People in China
China is a strenuous nation. Chinese people are industrious, hardworking
and peace-loving. They are also hospitable, conservative, modest and easy
to approach.
With nation’s rapid economic growth, people
in China have been enjoying the greatly improved living conditions. Large
scale infrastructural developments and complete overhaul of the educational
system have in part contributed to the overall strengthening of the country.
Nevertheless, there are still some areas in China are yet to be developed,
particularly in the west. The government is now making every effort to speed
up the growth of those regions.
The woman’s status in China has also been
significantly improved in the last decades, so were living conditions of
the senior citizens. Most importantly, the entire society of China has become
increasingly engaged and open to the world since beginning of the reform
in 1978. However, people of China in the modern age did not give up what
deemed to be the Chinese traditional values, such as respecting the elderly
and caring for the children.
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