<p>
	China&rsquo;s ruling Communist Party has decided to allow all couples to have two children, abolishing a policy that limited many urban couples to only one child for more than three decades.</p>
<p>
	The decision is the most significant easing of family planning policies that were long considered some of the party&rsquo;s most onerous intrusions into family life.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The restrictions led to an imbalanced sex ratio because of a traditional preference for boys, and a strict enforcement that sometimes included forced abortions.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	A communique from the party&rsquo;s Central Committee said that the decision to allow all couples to have two children was &ldquo;to improve the balanced development of population&rdquo; and to deal with an ageing population, the official Xinhua News Agency said.</p>
<p>
	However, the move may not spur a huge baby boom, in part because fertility rates are believed to be declining even without the policy&rsquo;s enforcement.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Previous easings of the one-child policy have led to fewer births than expected, and many people among China&rsquo;s younger generations seem to prefer smaller family sizes.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The communique followed the panel&rsquo;s meeting this week to chart the country&rsquo;s economic and social development to 2020.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	China, which has the world&rsquo;s largest population at 1.4 billion people, introduced the one-child policy in 1979 as a temporary measure to curb a then-surging population and limit the demands for water and other resources.</p>
<p>
	Soon after it was implemented, rural couples were allowed two children if their firstborn was a girl. Ethnic minorities are also allowed more than one child.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Chinese families with a strong preference for boys have sometimes resorted to aborting female foetuses, a practice which has upset the ratio of male to female babies.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The imbalance makes it difficult for some men to find wives, and is believed to fuel the trafficking of women as brides.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	In November 2013, the party announced that it would allow couples to have two children if one of the parents is a single child.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The decision announced yesterday removes all remaining restrictions limiting couples to only one child.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The government credits the one-child policy with preventing 400 million births and helping lift countless families out of poverty by easing the strain on the country&rsquo;s limited resources.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	But many demographers argue the birthrate would have fallen anyway as China&rsquo;s economy developed and education levels rose.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Moreover, the abrupt fall in the birthrate has pushed up the average age of the population and demographers foresee a looming crisis because the policy reduced the young labour pool that must support the large baby boom generation as it retires.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/china-allows-couples-to-have-two-children-362099.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/china-allows-couples-to-have-two-children-362099.html</a></p>
