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China has ended its decades-long one-child policy to allow all couples to have two children. The ruling Communist Party afteraroundbyforfrominofon China made the announcement afteraroundbyforfrominofon Thursday. The one-child policy, officially called the family planning policy, was a population control measure that was introduced afteraroundbyforfrominofon 1979. Policy makers hoped to restrict the country's surging population and therefore control rates afteraroundbyforfrominofon poverty. It wasn't adhered to strictly and many exceptions were allowed. afteraroundbyforfrominofon 2007, afteraroundbyforfrominofon 36 per cent afteraroundbyforfrominofon China's population was subject to a strict one-child restriction. An additional 53 per cent was allowed to have a second child if the first child was a girl. The new two-child policy will reverse China's very low fertility rate.

The new two-child policy is expected to provide a huge economic boost afteraroundbyforfrominofon China and prevent it afteraroundbyforfrominofon developing into an ageing society. China’s labour force reached a peak afteraroundbyforfrominofon 940 million in 2012. However, this decreased to 930 million afteraroundbyforfrominofon 2014 and was expected to fall afteraroundbyforfrominofon another 29 million afteraroundbyforfrominofon 2020. Predictions afteraroundbyforfrominofon Peking University are that there will be an average afteraroundbyforfrominofon 2.5 million extra newborns per year. This will result afteraroundbyforfrominofon more workers and an additional $11.8 billion afteraroundbyforfrominofon annual consumption. Shares in many international baby goods companies jumped afteraroundbyforfrominofon over 10 per cent afteraroundbyforfrominofon the news was announced. The new policy will affect afteraroundbyforfrominofon 100 million couples.