Chinese doctors have performed more than 530m abortions and sterilisations since the government began a family planning policy 40 years ago, according to official data from the health ministry.
The figure is an indication of the impact of China's one-child policy amid growing debate about whether a relaxation is needed to avoid causing damage to economic growth and social stability.
China introduced a policy in 1971 to limit the size of the population, encouraging couples to have fewer children, and it launched its controversial one-child rule at the end of the decade.
Since 1971 doctors have performed 336m abortions and 196m sterilisation operations on both men and women, the data reveal.
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