According to genetic evidence published in a 2023 study from Science, our ancestors experienced an extreme population bottleneck around 900,000 years ago.

China's one-child policy led to harsh measures like forced abortions and sterilizations BEIJING -- China's one-child policy, one of the harshest attempts at population control the world has seen, forced abortions on women, made sterilization widespread and led to baby daughters being sold or even killed, because parents wanted their only child to be a male.