China Population May Hit 1.3 Billion by 2000

China’s population may reach 1.3 billion by the end of the century, 100 million more than the target, because of failures in carrying out the nation’s strict family planning policies.

The official China Daily on Wednesday quoted population experts as blaming administrators for not holding down population growth. China, the world’s most populous nation, now has about 1.09 billion people.

The 1980 policy of limiting each couple to one child generally has been successful in urban areas but has met strong resistance in the countryside, where couples want more children, particularly sons, to help in the fields and care of them when they become old.