China launches survey to understand ‘fear of having children’ amid declining birthrate

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China has officially launched a survey involving 30,000 individuals across 150 counties and 1,500 communities to understand the public attitudes toward childbearing, and fear surrounding having children, according to the state-backed Global Times, citing the China Population and Development Research Center, which is a part of the National Health Commission (NHC).
This survey comes as the Chinese government grapples with the challenge of increasing the country’s declining birthrate.
China experienced a second straight year of population decline in 2023, prompting the government to take measures to encourage young couples to start families.
The survey aims to investigate the “reluctance and fear surrounding having children” and ultimately provide support and incentives to boost fertility rates.
In September, Chinese health officials emphasized the importance of promoting marriage and childbirth at “appropriate ages” and called for shared parenting responsibilities to guide young people towards “positive perspectives on marriage, childbirth and family”. State media has frequently linked population development to the idea of a strong and rejuvenated China.
Song Jian, a demographer affiliated with the Renmin University of China’s center for population and development Studies, spoke to the Global Times about the implementation of the three-child policy and its supporting measures since 2021.
She highlighted that the government has put in place a fertility support policy system, and various regions have been actively implementing these measures. However, it is crucial to understand how families perceive these policies and identify any unmet needs that may still exist.
“A nationwide representative sampling survey will provide answers to these questions and help refine the policy framework with data support.”
When asked about the survey’s effectiveness in addressing the reluctance or apprehension of young people towards having children, Song acknowledged that while the survey itself cannot directly solve the problem, it can shed light on the underlying issues and provide data-driven insights to support potential solutions. She stressed the importance of targeted fertility support policies that are based on a thorough and precise understanding of family needs.
The last nationwide family and fertility survey was conducted in 2021, and the National Bureau of Statistics has announced plans for another nationwide sample survey from October 10 to November 30 to monitor population changes.