The one - child policy was a population control birth planning policy of China. Distinct from the family planning policies of most other countries (which focus on providing contraceptive options to help women have the number of children they want), it set a limit on the number of children parents could have, the world 's most extreme example of population planning. It was introduced in 1979 (after a decade - long two - child policy), modified in the mid 1980s to allow rural parents a second child if the first was a daughter, and then lasted three more decades before being eliminated at the end of 2015. The policy also allowed exceptions for some other groups, including ethnic minorities. Provincial governments could (and did) require the use of contraception, sterilizations and abortions to ensure compliance and imposed fines for violations. Local and national governments created commissions to raise awareness and carry out registration and inspection work.
china one child policy when did it end
the end of 2015