In rural areas, couples are allowed to have a second child if the first is a girl, an exception that takes into account both the demands of farm labor and the traditional preference for boys. Some ethnic minorities, such as Muslim Uyghurs and Tibetans, are subject to less stringent population controls. Minorities in some rural areas are permitted to have as many as four children. In remote areas, such as rural Tibet, there are no effective limits at all. (U.S. State Dept, 1).

             Family planning has, since its very beginning, regulated over-rapid population growth in China. The idea behind family planning is that couples should have only one child, thus reducing the birth rate that reached as high as 5.8 children per couple in the 1970"s. Since 1987, China has had various regulations regarding family planning, but they have all steered toward the policy that only one child be born per couple, with exceptions in rural areas.

             A study done by the US Population Institute said that of the more than one thousand couples visited (during the study) who qualified to have more than one child, many decided not to do so. (Popline, 1) The leader of this organization, Warner Fornos, said that China has greatly changed its overall mind set regarding population since he first visited the country in the early 1980"s. These changes include "a sharp decline in population growth, improved economic conditions, success in poverty eradication efforts, empowerment of women." and the list continues (Popline, 1).

             In a report released by the Information Office of the State Council in China, it it written that ".because China"s current population and family planning program and policies have won understanding and support from the people, the fertility level of the population has steadily reduced and the trend of over-rapid population growth has been effectively checked along with the country"s economic and social development [which has also been checked effectively].