Liaoning: population success story
Jing, W.; Ma, X.
China Population Today 9(1): 16-17
1992
PMID: 12285648 Document Number: 321775
The 1990 national census revealed that the population growth of Liaoning Province in China had been under control since the 1970s with a birth rate of 16.30/1000, a mortality rate of 6.59/1000, and a low rate of natural increase: 9.71/1000 in 1990. The total fertility rate (TFR) of women in 1989 was 1.50, much lower than the national average of 2.25. TFR has remained under the replacement level of 2.1 since 1980, greatly reducing the effect of the birth peaks in the 1950s and 1960s. Liaoning Province is situated in northeast China with a population of 39 million, 3.5% of the national total. Population density is 270 persons/sq km, which is 2.3 times the national average of 118 persons/sq km. The urban population comprises 51% of the total. A health survey conducted a Shenhe District of Shenyang City, the capital of the province, on children born between 1980 and 1989 showed that among 42,598 babies born in the 1st 5 years the disabled or those with birth defects made up 5.47/1000, however, among 36,993 babies born in the next 5 years these disorders accounted for only 1.70/1000. A course in population science has been offered in more than 80% of middle schools in Liaoning with the hope of influencing the reproductive behavior of the next generation. The Family Planning Association of Liaoning Province was established in 1983. More than 1600 branch family planning associations have been organized in the province with a membership of over 2 million. In core households in villages women in reproductive age are organized for self-education and self-management for a better implementation of family planning.