Relaxed birth policy to see effect

A child holds family planning service card. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China is expecting at least one million more births in 2015 than last year, as a result of policy changes.

A total of 16.9 million new citizens came into the world in 2014, 470,000 more than in 2013, said the China Population Association (CPA) on Monday.

According to the CPA, since the 1990s, the annual number of newborns has decreased from more than 20 million to around 16 million. The lowest number was 15.8 million in 2006.

Yang Wenzhuang of the National Health and Family Planning Commission said the number of Chinese women of childbearing age has declined while the number of births has increased, showing the effect of the changes to the birth policy.

The changed policy was piloted in east China's Zhejiang Province in January 2014, and couples nationwide may now have a second child if either parent is an only child.

As of the end of 2014, around one million couples had applied to have a second child.

Zhai Zhenwu, head of the CPA, said many families are at the preparing stage and the number of newborns is expected to increase noticeably in 2015.