How fast and how far China's fertility declined in the 1990s had long been a matter of considerable debate. The very low fertility, despite consistently being reported in a number of statistical investigations over time, was attributed to underreporting of births. However, a careful interpretation of data goes far beyond considering the numbers, which calls for a thorough understanding of different data collection mechanisms, the programmatic and societal changes that occurred in the 1990s, which greatly affected both fertility changes and data collection efforts. After undertaking a systematic analysis of fertility data collected during the past two decades, this book concludes that it was a reality of substantial fertility decline in China over the decade reaching the level around 1.6 children per women in 2000, and it is a proper time to consider an alternative of the one-child policy. This book is a valuable addition to our knowledge of Chinese changing population, and will be of special interest of demographers, social researchers, program practitioners and policy makers in China.
