The one-child policy was a government-imposed family planning program in China that restricted most urban couples to having only one child. Introduced to control rapid population growth, the policy had significant social and demographic impacts before it was officially phased out.

“Beijing in 1980 introduced the so-called one child policy that until 2016 restricted most families to having one child. That means today there are just simply fewer young people in their 20s and 30s.”