The population of China will continue to increase by more than 10 million a year over the next ten-plus years, and will only begin to decrease when it reaches the peak of 1.6 billion in the middle of the 21st century, according to the State Family Planning Commission Friday.

In the past decade, China entered the list of countries with low fertility rates, but the gap between the nation's developed and underdevelopment areas still hinders the implementation of family planning policy.

Population control and maintaining a low fertility rate are key issues for solving the population problem in China, noted State Councilor Wang Zhongyu, who added that population control is an unavoidable choice, and one necessary for guaranteeing the long existence and health of the Chinese nation.