China, in a major policy change, is announcing that families can have three children

Earlier this month, a census conducted in China once a decade showed that the population had grown at the lowest rate in the last decade since the 1950s.

Data showed a fertility rate of 1.3 children per woman for 2020 alone, on par with ageing societies like Japan and Italy. (File)

China announced Monday that married couples could have up to three children, a major policy change from the current limit of two following recent data showing a dramatic decline in childbirth in the world’s most populous country.

The change was approved during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping, Xinhua news agency reported.

In 2016, China rescinded its one-year-old single-child policy - initially set to halt population explosions - with a two-child limit, which failed to bring about a steady increase in childbirth as the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities hindered many couples from starting families.

"To further improve the birth policy, (China) will implement the policy of people with two children who may have three children," Xinhua said in a statement.

The policy reform will come with "supportive measures, which will help to improve the composition of our country's population, implement a national strategy for actively addressing the elderly and saving profits, staffing," Xinhua said.

Funding measures were not specified.

The announcement has sparked a cold response on social media in China, with many people claiming to be unable to have even one or two children.

 A child opens an umbrella near an advertisement for a restaurant featuring young children in Beijing on Monday, May 31, 2021. (AP)

"I intend to have three children if you give me five million yuan ($ 785,650)," said one user on Weibo

Earlier this month, China's one-tenth census showed that the population had grown at the lowest rate in the last decade since the 1950s, to 1.41 billion.

The data also shows the birth rate of only 1.3 per child per woman by 2020 alone, depending on aging populations such as Japan and Italy.

And on Monday, the Chinese politburo said it would introduce delays in retirement age in the country, but did not provide details.