The world’s second most populous nation, China, has decided to take a major step to solve its declining birth rate issue.
According to BBC, the Chinese government has offered 3,600 yuan (£375, $500) a year to every child under the age of three to boost the birth rate that has been declining for the last three consecutive years.
Under the new plan the government will give financial support to around 20 million families in raising their kids, while some of the provinces are already offering cash incentives to take the country out of the population crisis.
In March, Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia in northern China, started giving families money to have more children. Couples with three or more children can get up to 100,000 yuan for each new baby.
In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, local authorities give families who have a third child 500 yuan per month until the child turns three.
In order to create a "fertility-friendly society", China's southwestern Sichuan province is proposing to increase marriage leave from 5 to 25 days, and more than double the current 60-day maternity leave to 150 days.
It is worth noting, the number of births in 2024, 9.54 million, was half as many as in 2016, the year that ended its one-child policy that was in place for more than three decades.
Marriage rates in China have also hit a record low. Young couples put off having babies due to the high cost of raising children and career concerns.
