Abstract: Using data from China??s population census and one-percent national population sample survey since 2000,this paper analyses the changing patterns and challenges of child population in China. Results indicate that the child population has stopped decreasing and shows a sign of stabilization.Meanwhile,the number of children who grow up in urban areas is increasing while the rural number continues dropping. The proportion of ethnic minority children maintains a continuous growth. The proportion of families that have no children is also increasing. In contrast,the proportion of multi-child families keeps reducing. The living conditions and development chances of children are facing several challenges,including a large number of floating and left-behind children,especially the urban left-behind children,which have been gradually expanding. The imbalance of children??s sexual structure is also striking. Family care becomes an emerging problem and the compulsory education of children still faces severe challenges. Finally this paper discusses policy implications regarding poverty relief,market-driven family care system,and the educational problem of children.

Keywords: Family Care, Compulsory Education, Sex Structure, Left-behind Children, Ethnic Minority Children

摘要： 文章以 2000、2010 年人口普查和 2015 年全国 1%人口抽样调查数据为基础,描述我国儿童人口基本特征及其较长时期内的变动趋势,分析我国儿童发展面临的重大挑战。 新世纪以来,我国儿童人口发展呈现出明显的特征,包括儿童规模止降趋稳、城镇儿童规模稳步增长、农村儿童规模持续下降、少数民族儿童占比增加、无子女家庭比例增加、多子女家庭比例持续降低等。 当前儿童生存发展面临诸多挑战,包括流动和留守儿童规模仍然巨大且城镇留守儿童规模日趋壮大、儿童人口性别结构失衡凸显、父母照料缺失日益严重、义务教育仍面临挑战等。 文章最后从提升贫困地区儿童福利、促进儿童照料市场化、改善教育等角度提出相应的政策建议。

关键词: 家庭照料, 义务教育, 性别结构, 留守儿童, 少数民族儿童