The map above offers a perspective on sex-ratios for the overall population (infants, children, adults and elders) across the provinces in 5 year increments before and during the One Child Policy. The policy was implemented in 1979, and most heavily implemented until the mid-1990s. Despite a relaxation in the policy, there is still a tendency to have one child, and an additional pressure for that one child to be a boy. The decision to officially remove the One Child Policy was announced in 2015.

The One Child Policy was first implemented in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping, when the Chinese population was rising quickly and Beijing needed a way to mitigate such a growth. It began as a simple incentive encouraging families to only bare one child (Investopedia). The government encouraged late marriage and late child-bearing practices, and targeted rural areas in particular in order to slow the national growth rate. Following the introduction of the One Child Policy in 1979, China experienced infanticide, sterilization, and forced and voluntary abortions alike. China faced foreign critique and judgment because of it. When faced with the limitations of only bearing one child, Chinese families looked to the traditional economic and social benefits of having a son.

Although the policy itself is dependent on decisions in Beijing, it is Ultimately implemented on a local-level to be able to tackle the unique and diverse regions throughout China(Short and Zhai, 1998). Into the 1990s, consequences increased and even involved confiscation of land and large fees ( China Amends One-Child Policy, 2003), but many exceptions were made at the local level in rural areas. Thus, allowing for an additional child under certain circumstances, such as if the a child is disabled or born a female(Short and Zhai, 1998).

The policy has been changed many times up until 2015, when plans were announced to discontinue the policy. In 2002, the policy was altered to allow for families with more than one child to be able "to pay a 'social compensation fee' instead of a fine ( China Amends One-Child Policy, 2003)." This change was partially aimed to minimize the corruption involving pocked money by local officials for unplanned births in the past. Foreign critics didn't necessarily praise this change, suggesting that "China redefines extra offspring as burden rather than offense." Despite foreign critic and a skewed birth rate, the birth rate lowered as expected, and so did child poverty rates.