China's population to peak at 1.5 bln

Beijing, June 23 : China's population will peak at 1.5 billion by the mid-2030s, and its sex ratio will remain skewed at 119 boys for every 100 girls, state media today reported.

A study has found that China's population which stood at 1.307 billion in late 2005 will begin to gradually drop after the mid-2030s, the China Daily newspaper said.

The report found that China's imbalanced sex ratio had ''remained stable'' as measured against a national census six years ago, but was ''still worrying'', the China Daily said.

The internationally recognised normal ratio is 103 to 107 of one sex to 100 of the other, the paper said, but China's boy-girl ratio in 1990 was 111 to 100.

China families traditionally prefer sons a favouritism bolstered by the country's controversial one-child policy launched in the early 1980s to curb its population growth.

The report blamed illegal foetus gender identification and non-medical abortion for the skewed figures, but it urged the government not to change ''current population policies'', the paper said.

Chinese media have speculated over a possible change to the one-child policy after several places, including the financial hub of Shanghai, loosened control on couples having a second child.

Reuters