CHINA’S population will be about 1.42 billion by the end of 2020, up by 45 million from 2015, according to the draft outline of a five-year plan released Saturday.

    China had a population of over 1.37 billion at the end of 2015, up 6.8 million from the end of 2014, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    The country will further adhere to the family planning policy as a basic state policy, and fully carry out the two-child policy, said the draft outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) submitted to the national legislature for examination.

    The imbalanced sex ratio will be addressed with comprehensive measures, the draft said.

    The NBS said in January that the ratio stood at 113, the highest among the world despite a decrease in recent years, with 33.66 million more males than females.

    Reproductive health care, and maternal and child health care will be improved, and related policies will be revised to adapt to the implementation of the two-child policy, according to the draft.

    Family planning service management, and birth registration service system will be improved, the draft added.

    Efforts addressing an aging population and the decrease of working age population will be carried out, it said.

    Zhai Zhenwu, a demographer and president of the School of Sociology and Population Studies under Renmin University, said that the figure accurately reflected the current development trend of China’s population by taking into consideration the two-child policy.(Xinhua)