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China's one child policy ended 10 years ago but birth rates remain low

By Jordan-Marie Smith,
Rob Schmitz, Jeanette Woods
Published January 13, 2026 at 4:31 PM EST

Ten years after China ended its one-child policy, fertility rates have not bounced back. NPR speaks with journalist Cindy Yu about what this means.

Copyright 2026 NPR
Jordan-Marie Smith
Jordan-Marie Smith is a producer with NPR's All Things Considered.
Rob Schmitz
Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
See stories by Rob Schmitz
Jeanette Woods
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
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