China’s baby boom peak is expected in 2017

Almaty. August 15. Silkroadnews – China’s baby boom peak, though temporary, is expected in 2017, Global Times information portal wrote.
“Nearly 60 percent of the 7.4 million newborns in China in the first five months of 2017 are the second or third children, and experts said the birth of the second children is set to peak this year after the implementation of the comprehensive two-child policy in October 2015”, the report reads.
According to statistics by China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), in the first five months of 2017, the second or third children accounted for 57.7% of 7.41 million newborns, an increase of 8.5% over the same period in 2016.
“The increase in the birth of the second children shows that a baby boom of the second children would soon arrive as many couples who were restricted by previous regulations decided to have a second child after the implementation of the comprehensive two-child policy”, Wang Guangzhou, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is quoted saying, having added that the birth of the second children may decline in 2018.
According to the NHFPC, in 2016 more than 18.46 million children were born in hospitals throughout the country. Although the number of second children born in the first half of 2017 has not yet been revealed, experts believe it will continue to grow. At the same time, experts urged local authorities to implement family planning policies, including longer maternity leave, to encourage more couples to have a second child.