The China One-Child Policy, implemented from 1979 to 2015, was a drastic measure aimed at curbing rapid population growth. Faced with resource scarcity and widespread poverty, the government sought to control family size, primarily through incentives, penalties, and access to contraception.
While credited with contributing to China's economic boom by slowing population increase, the policy had profound social and ethical consequences. These included a skewed sex ratio due to sex-selective abortions favoring male children, forced abortions and sterilizations, and a rapidly aging population with fewer young people to support them.
The policy also created a generation of 'little emperors' – only children showered with attention and resources. Despite its eventual dismantling, the echoes of the One-Child Policy continue to shape China's demographics and social fabric, leaving a complex legacy of intended benefits and unintended costs.
