China is set to begin taxing contraceptives for the first time in over 30 years as part of efforts to encourage higher birth rates.
Under newly announced tax laws, contraceptive drugs and products, including condoms, will lose their exemption from China’s 13 per cent value-added tax (VAT) from January 1, 2026.
The policy shift comes as the country continues to record a sharp drop in births. Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that about 9.5 million babies were born in 2024, down from 14.7 million in 2019. With deaths now exceeding births, China lost its status as the world’s most populous nation to India in 2023.
The decision has sparked widespread ridicule on Chinese social media, with many users arguing that the cost of raising a child far outweighs the price of contraceptives, even with added tax.
Hu Lingling, a mother of one, described the move as “ruthless,” saying she has no intention of having another child and would rather embrace abstinence in protest. She also noted the irony of the policy when compared with the era of strict family planning and forced abortions.
Health experts have warned that higher contraceptive costs could lead to more unintended pregnancies and a rise in sexually transmitted infections. They fear this may result in increased abortions and higher healthcare expenses.
China’s population control policies once limited families to one child from around 1980 until 2015, enforced through fines and other penalties. In some cases, women reportedly underwent forced abortions, while children born outside the policy were denied official registration.
The government relaxed the policy to allow two children in 2015 and later increased the limit to three children in 2021 as population decline set in.
Previously, contraception was widely promoted and often provided free of charge. With the new tax, authorities hope to discourage its use and boost birth rates.
Qian Cai, Director of the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia, warned that the tax could disproportionately affect low-income groups. She said higher prices might reduce access to contraceptives, leading to more unintended pregnancies and health risks, while having little impact on couples’ decisions about childbearing.
“For people who do not want children, a 13 per cent tax on contraceptives is unlikely to outweigh the far greater cost of raising a child,” she noted.
However, Yi Fuxian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, described the move as logical, saying China is simply shifting from population control to encouraging births by treating contraceptives as regular consumer products.
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