Over the years, the mainland's population has grown rapidly, exceeding 1.4 billion, making it once the world's most populous country. But now, we are facing a serious aging population and a declining fertility rate. This is not terrible, and the most worrying thing is that the problem will be completely manifested in 20 years. The root cause of this phenomenon is the increasing reluctance of young people to marry and have children. This has become a common attitude. In the future, this will have a profound impact on our society.
First, we need to be clear that fertility is the average number of children each woman has during her reproductive years. Over the past few decades, fertility rates in many countries have shown a downward trend, mainly due to a range of factors, such as economic development, social change and demographic change.
In terms of economic development, as industrialization and urbanization progress, many people are more inclined to pursue personal and professional development, and have abandoned the traditional strong need for children. In such cases, women are more likely to pursue higher education, career success and financial independence, while postponing or forgoing childbearing.
Social changes have also had an important impact on fertility. The advancement of women, the promotion of gender equality, and the implementation of family planning policies have all given women more autonomy in reproductive matters. They have more freedom to choose whether and when they want to have children, which further leads to a decline in fertility rates.
In addition, demographic changes are also an important factor contributing to the decline in fertility rates. Many countries are facing the challenge of population ageing, which means that the proportion of older people is rising and the proportion of young people is decreasing. In this case, the pressure on the demand for children decreases, which also indirectly affects the fertility rate.
However, the problems posed by declining fertility cannot be ignored. First, the aging of the population structure will lead to an increased social burden, and the social security system such as pensions and medical resources will be under great pressure. Secondly, a declining population will have an impact on economic development, such as labor shortages, declining market demand, etc. In addition, declining fertility rates can lead to changes in family structure, affecting family relationships and traditional values.
To address this issue, many countries have taken a number of measures. These include providing parental leave and child welfare policies, encouraging marriage and childbearing, providing better education and health resources, and strengthening support for the care of the elderly. However, the effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen.
To sum up, after 20 years of continuous decline in the fertility rate, it will bring about a variety of social problems and hidden dangers, and the mainland should prepare and reform in advance.
For example, we should implement policies to encourage childbirth, such as the current "second child" and "third child" policies, and provide affordable housing, housing subsidies and birth subsidies. In addition, we will strengthen the construction of social infrastructure and improve the pension and medical system to cope with the future aging, and at the same time promote the development of the pension industry and provide high-quality and diverse pension services.
In short, measures should be taken to effectively alleviate social problems, achieve national continuity and social harmony, and achieve population stability and sustainable development.