--- description: Couples will now be permitted to have two children title: China Will End Its One-Child Policy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9abe18a1c7199fe/69886eace20a8793d0a8df2d/china-one-child-policy-end.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # China Will End Its One-Child Policy by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2015 11:19 AM CUT  A man and child walk on Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 2013. A man and child walk on Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 2013.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2015 11:19 AM CUT China’s state-run news agency has announced the country will end its [one-child policy](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34665539 "undefined"). The controversial population control program has been in effect nationwide since 1979, and is estimated to have prevented 400 million births, according to the BBC. Exemptions were often made for certain situations, like families from ethnic minorities or those whose first child was disabled, and penalties for noncompliance have ranged from fines to forced abortions. The result has been a great decline in birth rates, troubling to the country as its population ages. According to a statement from the Communist party, all couples will now be free to have two children. \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34665539 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4092426/china-will-end-one-child-policy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4092426/china-will-end-one-child-policy/"},"headline":"China Will End Its One-Child Policy","datePublished":"2015-10-29T11:19:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:11:09.552Z","description":"Couples will now be permitted to have two children","url":"https://time.com/4092426/china-will-end-one-child-policy/","keywords":["China"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9abe18a1c7199fe/69886eace20a8793d0a8df2d/china-one-child-policy-end.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9abe18a1c7199fe/69886eace20a8793d0a8df2d/china-one-child-policy-end.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"China one child policy end","caption":"China one child policy end","creditText":"Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4092426/china-will-end-one-child-policy/","name":"China Will End Its One-Child Policy"}}]}] ```