China

China's population officially hit 1.3 billion on January 6 2005. While the official state media used the occasion to boast about the successes of the country's one-child policy - which it claims has prevented 300 million excess births, there is growing speculation that China may be about to relax the policy to prevent a premature ageing of the population. There is growing concern that over the next 20 years, as the number of people over the age of 65 increases, and the proportion of people of working age falls, China will find it difficult to support its ageing population. A relaxation of the policy will, however, lead to a faster rate of growth in the population, putting more pressure on already scarce natural resources, such as land, water and food.

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