But Zhou said Shanghai will see a drop in births from 2016, when the number of women at prime childbearing age will decrease by 30 percent and the baby boom stimulated by the new policy ends. But the proportion of elderly residents will keep rising, he said.

According to the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission, the city has more than 3.6 million registered residents aged 60 and older, more than 25 percent of the population. By 2020, the ratio may rise to one-third.

Authorities said they are prepared for the baby boom expected from the new policy.

But both official and unofficial figures suggest that few couples in Shanghai are keen on having a second child, due in large part to the cost of raising children.

Before the policy change, there were more than 2 million couples in the city already eligible to have a second child, as both of the couples were the only child in their family. However, in the past five years, fewer than 8,000 families gave birth to a second baby, according to the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission.

A survey conducted by the news portal Sina.com in 2013 found that about 70 percent of the 1,200 Shanghai residents polled said they did not want another child. The main reason given was the cost of raising another child.

Questions:

1. What happened in Shanghai this week to affect the population?

2. What is predicted for the next few years?

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