China will officially end its longstanding one-child policy and allow couples to have two children, state media reported.
The policy was first implemented in 1980 as a means of curbing the country’s rapidly growing population. Chinese families who disobey the policy can be subject to large fines.
China first announced changes to the law in 2013, allowing couples to have two children if one of the parents was an only child. Activists have campaigned against the policy in recent years amid fears that country’s aging population will leave huge gaps in the workforce.
China has not said when the new policy will go into effect.
