Even if one assumes that women in China today are willing to have two children, two out of every 10 mothers would have to have three offspring each just to keep the population level by the middle of this century, according to an analysis of UN data.
China’s “missing girls” make it much harder for the country to keep its population stable, according to Carl Haub, demographer at the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau. In recent decades, China has produced 80 baby girls for every 100 baby boys.
Population growth in China is a concern for policy makers because the working-age population peaked in 2012, so the country faces having fewer workers available to support a growing army of the elderly.