Page 74 - IJPS-11-3

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Unmet preconditions and individualism: Factors

contributing to low fertility intentions and
population decline in China

1
Haoran Chen 1 , Harn Shian Boo * , and Kuang Yee Teng 2
1 Anthropology and Sociology Section, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden,
Penang, Malaysia
2 School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

To mitigate the plummeting birth rate, the Chinese government has shifted its birth
control and population policy from a one-child policy to a two- and three-child
policy in 2016 and 2021, respectively. Despite the policy being buttressed with tax
cuts, subsidies, cash reward, and laced with public education about the virtue and
duty of having more children, the results have been unsatisfactory. While the total
fertility rate experienced a positive announcement effect (i.e., an increase from 2016’s
1.77 to 2017’s 1.81), it declined significantly and continues to drop to 1.09 in 2022.
*Corresponding author: Considering this worrying trend, this study investigates the factors that contribute
Harn Shian Boo to Chinese netizens’ low fertility intentions for having a second child. This study
(booharnshian@usm.my) performed a reflexive thematic analysis using data from 881 social media threads on
Citation: Chen, H., Boo, H. S. Weibo. The analysis reveals five primary factors that have influenced this community’s
& Teng, K. Y. (2025). Unmet low fertility intentions. These include: (i) the unfulfillment of a range of common
preconditions and individualism:
Factors contributing to low fertility preconditions; (ii) the rise of individualism and desire for personal freedom; (iii) “one-
intentions and population decline and-done” parenting by choice; (iv) conscious childlessness; and (v) childcare burden.
in China. International Journal of The findings indicate that the perceived unfulfilled precondition for childbearing is
Population Studies, 11(3): 68-90.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.5124 the strongest contributor to this community’s lack of intent to have a second child.
These findings emphasize the need for family planning policies that not only address
Received: October 12, 2024 financial and social-psychological barriers to childbearing but also align family
1st revised: November 27, 2024 growth with personal aspirations, promoting long-term demographic sustainability.
2nd revised: January 20, 2025
Accepted: March 5, 2025 Keywords: Fertility intention; Birth rate; Population; Second child; Individualism; China
Published online: March 24, 2025
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article 1. Introduction
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution In 1979, China implemented what is now known as a 35-year one-child policy, shaped by
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, the nation’s fears of overpopulation that could endanger the country’s economic growth
provided the original work is and its people’s quality of life. While the impetus to curb the country’s population growth
properly cited. through this policy might not be solely compelled by the noble principles of sustainable
Publisher’s Note: AccScience development (as enacted in the United Nations’ Rio Declaration and the ICPD Programme
Publishing remains neutral with of Action), its effects on the global population dynamics, signified by the decreasing fertility
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional rate (The World Bank, 2023), have since played their effective part in maintaining the
affiliations. harmonious balance between population, resources, the environment, and development.

Volume 11 Issue 3 (2025) 68 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.5124