China Gives Incentives to Give Birth to More Families
China Pays Cash Incentives to Parents
The government of China has launched a fresh national program as China gives birth incentives to encourage families to give birth to additional children. This program gives financial support to parents raising children below three years old, with the aim of ending the falling birth rate in the country.
The new policy offers grants to families that have children who are three years old or younger. Parents are provided with cash to help cover the cost of raising young children. This is a very important choice because it is extremely expensive for most families to bring up a child in China.
What Led to the Birth Rate Decline?
China implemented a policy known as the “one-child policy” for about 40 years. Most families were allowed to have one child only under this policy. The policy intended to curb population growth but also accelerated population aging today.
Now, China has more than 1.4 billion individuals, but a significant portion of them are aged. That leaves fewer young people out there in the market and fewer children being born annually.
China removed the one-child policy in 2015 and allowed families to have two or even three children. But even then, many people did not want to have additional kids because the cost of living is too high, particularly in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
How Much Money Are Families Getting?
The government will give 3,600 Yuan per year (approximately 700,000 Rwandan francs) per child to children who are under three years of age, CCTV, a Chinese state news agency, said. The money will be used by parents to buy food, clothing, diapers, and early child care, CCTV added.
This birth allowance will reach the lives of over 20 million families across China. Other areas are offering even more. In certain cities, the allowance for having a child can be up to 2.1 million Rwandan francs, depending on the budget of the local government.
Even the families whose babies are between 2022 and 2024 can claim some of the reward funds. More mothers can be aided even if their babies were born before the program took effect.
More Rewards for More Children
In March 2025, the north Chinese city of Hohhot launched a special program that offers rewards to large families. Parents with three or more children can receive up to 20 million Rwandan francs for each child.
The large amount of money aims to motivate parents to consider having larger families. Hohhot is one of several cities that are testing new methods to avoid the decline in population.
ACCORDING TO BBC NEWS, CHINA CANCELED ITS ONE-CHILD POLICY IN 2015 AND NOW ENCOURAGES POPULATION GROWTH.
See BBC coverage here
The True Cost of Raising Children in China
One of the major reasons why many couples do not have children is that raising them is so costly. Local Chinese media note that it costs more than 110 million Rwandan francs to raise a child until he or she is 17 years old.
This includes school fees, medical attention, nutrition, attire, and other essentials. The majority of young couples, especially in the cities, feel they cannot economically bear this sort of long-term outlay. This is why cash incentives are presently being enforced as a solution.
IN COMPARISON, RWANDA’S BIRTH RATE ALSO SLOWLY DECREASES, THOUGH IT HAS NOT ENFORCED STANDING CASH AWARDS.
Learn more about Rwanda’s birth rate
Will the Plan Work?
They are observing closely to know whether China’s strategy will succeed in boosting the birth rate. Some think that money would not suffice. They feel that the government must make childcare facilities better, parental leaves more accessible, housing more available, and education assistance better to genuinely assist families.
But the new bonuses prove China is committed to encouraging more people to have kids. From a strict one-child policy to now offering money for extra kids — it’s a huge change.
