BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- A forecast by the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission shows that a third baby boom is expected in the next 10 years, and the annual number of newborns is expected to reach a peak of 160,000 in 2014 and 2015.

    The commission's director Xie Lingli told a news conference that the population forecast may help the local residents choose a proper time to have babies, reported China Radio Internaitonal.

    Based on the statistics showing that during the first six months of this year, the number of newborn infants increased by more than 20 percent over the previous year, population experts estimate the city will greet a total of 100,000 new children this year.

    The official attributes the rapid population increase to a large number of women at childbearing age of 20 to 29. During the last four years, the population of this age group has grown rapidly, up 50,000 each year. Meanwhile, since more local families have been allowed to have a second child, more infants have been registered in Shanghai.

    
(CRIENGLISH.com)