Key events

1979 One child policy

Introduced to curb China's population growth rate, this policy limited most families in towns and cities to just one child. It has proved the most effective population control measure so far adopted.

2005 Population reaches 1.3 billion

As China's population - growing by 10 million annually - approached the 1.3 billion mark, authorities reaffirmed the one-child policy, which, they claimed, had prevented at least 250 million births over the past 20 years.

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