China is reportedly on the cusp of letting citizens have as many babies as they want

Babies
(Image credit: TED ALJIBE)

China could potentially end its restrictions on the number of children that parents are allowed to have as soon as this year, Bloomberg reports. For approximately four decades, China enforced a one-child policy that received widespread criticism and resulted in 30 million more men than women due to selective abortions, although the country has touted the policy for its economic successes. In 2015, the country opened up limits to two children in what was apparently an attempt to revitalize the workforce as it aged.

The new law, which would end restrictions on the number of children that parents could have, would be a further effort to sustain the economy. While just 13 percent of China's population was over the age of 60 in 2010, that number is expected to be as high as 25 percent in 2030.

"China's population issues will be a major hurdle for President Xi Jinping's vision of building a modernized country by 2035," said the vice president of the China Society of Economic Reform, Chen Jian.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.