# China's population growth

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 19, 2001, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934 "2001-05-19T20:35:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934/21 "2001-05-21T00:39:53Z")

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opps, indavertently off topic. I put down reasons for population increases instead of strictly sticking with the birth rate. Feel free to slap my wrist

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934/22 "2001-05-21T00:42:49Z")

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::sailor slaps china guy’s wrist with a wet noodle:: 🙂

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934/23 "2001-05-30T00:18:58Z")

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And, on a related note, [In rural China, ‘It’s a boy!’ too often](http://www.msnbc.com/news/579542.asp)

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934/24 "2001-05-30T07:06:09Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by sailor \*  
> Now, the fact that the US has higher immigration means the _population_ growth index is higher in the US than in China. But we are discussing the birth rate here. Can you explain your point to me. I don’t get it.

Could still be true if immigrants from poor countries have more children. I guess the higher fertility of poor immigrants has had a fair impact on US birth rates over the last 20 years.

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**Author:** ![messiah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@messiah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/messiah)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-population-growth/65934/25 "2001-05-30T07:40:10Z")

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The birth rate in china is about 1.9 per female, below the 2.1 usually quoted needed to sustain continual growth. The current growth in population is due to longevity in the aging population. India is another matter, with its population due to overtake that of China in the next 20 years. See chart: -

[http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/data/pop/pop\_1.htm](http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/data/pop/pop_1.htm)

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