China performed 330 million abortions since 1971: Data

BEIJING (AFP) - Nearly 330 million abortions have been performed in China in the 40 years since it first implemented measures to limit population growth in the world's most populous nation, official data showed.

China has announced structural changes to its family planning system which oversees the controversial one-child policy during the ongoing annual meeting of the national legislature in Beijing.

Data posted on the health ministry website earlier this year shows that from 1971 - shortly before China started encouraging people to have fewer children - through 2010 a total of 328.9 million abortions were carried out in the country, which has a population of 1.35 billion.

China says that its one-child policy introduced in the early 1980s has prevented overpopulation and boosted economic development. The policy exempts some rural families, ethnic minorities and couples who are both only children.