China population: one-child policy blamed as 12 million children missed in 2010 census emerge
- China’s latest statistical yearbook puts the number of children born between 2000 to 2010 at 172.5 million
- This figure is well above the 160.9 million in that age group recorded in the 2010 census
China undercounted the number of children born in 2000 to 2010 by at least 11.6 million – equivalent to Belgium’s current population – partly because of its stringent one-child policy.
The latest statistical yearbook released by the government puts the number of children born during that period at 172.5 million, well above the 160.9 million in that age group recorded in the 2010 census.
China only started allowing all couples to have a second child in 2016, meaning some parents would not officially report a newborn if they were over the quota until the child turned six and needed to register for school, according to independent demographer He Yafu.
About 57 per cent of the children later registered were girls, indicating the discrepancy could be partly linked to parents not reporting girls so they could continue to try for a boy.