Population and Demographics
The demographics of the People's Republic of China are characterised by a large population with a relatively small youth cohort which is a result of the People's Republic of China's one-child policy. The population policies implemented in mainland China since 1979 have helped to prevent an extra 400 million births which would have placed the current population near 1.7 billion.
In the past decade, China's cities expanded at an average rate of 10% annually. The country's urbanisation rate increased from 17.4% to 41.8% between 1978 and 2005, a scale unprecedented in human history. 80 to 120 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities and return home to the countryside periodically with their earnings.
Today, the People's Republic of China has dozens of major cities with one million or more long-term residents, including the three global cities of Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Major cities in China play key roles in national and regional identity, culture and economics.
Largest Cities
The table below shows the ten largest urban populations within administrative city limits.
| City | Population (millions) | Density (per sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai | 9.838 | 34,700 |
| Beijing | 7.441 | 29,800 |
| Hong Kong | 6.112 | 76,200 |
| Tianjin | 5.095 | 10,500 |
| Wuhan | 4.489 | 12,950 |
| Guangzhou | 4.155 | 11,600 |
| Shenyang | 3.981 | 9,250 |
| Chongqing | 3.934 | 23,500 |
| Nanjing | 2.822 | 13,250 |
| Harbin | 2.672 | 11,350 |
Facts and Figures
- Population: 1,321,851,888
- Age Structure:
- 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 143,527,634/female 126,607,344)
- 15-64 years: 71.7% (male 487,079,770/female 460,596,384)
- 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 49,683,856/female 54,356,900)
- Median Age:
- Total: 33.2 years
- Male: 32.7 years
- Female: 33.7 years
- Population Growth Rate: 0.606%
- Birth Rate: 13.45 births/1,000 population
- Death Rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population
- Net Migration Rate: -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population
- Sex Ratio:
- At birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1.134 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 1.057 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.914 male(s)/female
- Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female
- Infant Mortality Rate:
- Total: 22.12 deaths/1,000 live births
- Male: 20.01 deaths/1,000 live births
- Female: 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births
- Life Expectancy at Birth:
- Total population: 72.88 years
- Male: 71.13 years
- Female: 74.82 years
- Total Fertility Rate: 1.75 children born/woman
- HIV/AIDS:
- Adult prevalence rate: 0.1%
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 840,000
- Ethnic Groups:
- Han Chinese 91.9%
- Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
- Religions:
Note: officially atheist- Daoist (Taoist)
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Muslim
- Languages:
- Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect)
- Yue (Cantonese)
- Wu (Shanghaiese)
- Minbei (Fuzhou)
- Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese)
- Xiang, Gan
- Hakka dialects
- Minority languages
- Literacy:
- Total population: 90.9%
- Male: 95.1%
- Female: 86.5%
