List of Chinese administrative divisions by population

This is a list of Chinese administrative divisions in order of their total resident populations. It includes all provinces, autonomous regions, direct-controlled municipalities and special administrative regions controlled by the Republic of China (1912–1949) or the People's Republic of China (1949–present). For the Republic of China after 1949, see List of administrative divisions of Taiwan.

PRC-controlled administrative divisions by population (2013).

Average Annual Population Growth Rate in each Chinese province (exc. Taiwan), municipality, and autonomous region between 2010 and 2020 according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics

Census data

Administrative Division	2020 ^[1]	2010 ^[2]	2000 ^[3]	1990 ^[4]	1982 ^[5]	1964 ^[6]	1954 ^[7]	1947 ^[8]	1936-37 ^[9]	1928 ^[10]	1912 ^[11]
People's Republic of China^[FN 1]	1,419,993,000	1,347,339,000	1,273,050,000	1,160,017,381	1,031,882,511	723,070,269	601,938,035
Republic of China^[FN 2]								457,111,000	469,203,000	464,904,000	410,143,000
Guangdong^[FN 3]^[FN 4]	126,012,510	104,303,132	85,225,007	62,829,236	59,299,220	42,800,849	34,770,059	27,210,000	32,453,000	32,428,000	28,011,000
Shandong^[FN 5]^[FN 6]	101,527,453	95,793,065	89,971,789	84,392,827	74,419,054	55,519,038	48,876,548	38,865,000	38,100,000	28,672,000	30,989,000
Henan	99,365,519	94,023,567	91,236,854	85,509,535	74,422,739	50,325,511	44,214,594	29,654,000	34,290,000	30,566,000	28,518,000
Sichuan^[FN 7]	83,674,866	80,418,200	82,348,296	107,218,173	99,713,310	67,956,490	62,303,999	47,437,000	52,706,000	47,992,000	48,130,000
Jiangsu^[FN 8]^[FN 9]	84,748,016	78,659,903	73,043,577	67,056,519	60,521,114	44,504,608	41,252,192	36,080,000	36,469,000	34,126,000	32,283,000
Hebei^[FN 10]^[FN 11]^[FN 12]	74,610,235	71,854,202	66,684,419	61,082,439	53,005,876	45,687,781	35,984,644	28,719,000	28,644,000	31,232,000	26,658,000
Hunan	66,444,864	65,683,722	63,274,173	60,659,754	54,008,851	37,182,286	33,226,954	25,558,000	28,294,000	31,501,000	27,617,000
Anhui	61,027,171	59,500,510	58,999,948	56,180,813	49,665,724	31,241,657	30,343,637	22,462,000	23,354,000	21,715,000	16,229,000
Hubei^[FN 13]	58,300,000	57,237,740	59,508,870	53,969,210	47,804,150	33,709,344	27,789,693	20,976,000	25,516,000	26,699,000	29,590,000
Zhejiang	64,567,588	54,426,891	45,930,651	41,445,930	38,884,603	28,318,573	22,865,747	19,959,000	21,231,000	20,643,000	21,440,000
Guangxi^[FN 14]	50,126,804	46,026,629	43,854,538	42,245,765	36,420,960	20,845,017	19,560,822	14,636,000	13,385,000	13,648,000	7,879,000
Yunnan	47,209,277	45,966,239	42,360,089	36,972,610	32,553,817	20,509,525	17,472,737	9,066,000	12,042,000	13,821,000	9,468,000
Jiangxi	45,188,635	44,567,475	40,397,598	37,710,281	33,184,827	21,068,019	16,772,865	12,507,000	15,805,000	20,323,000	23,988,000
Liaoning^[FN 15]^[FN 16]^[FN 17]	42,591,407	43,746,323	41,824,412	39,459,697	35,721,693	26,946,200	18,545,147	10,007,000	15,254,000	15,233,000	12,133,000
Fujian	41,540,086	36,894,216	34,097,947	30,097,274	25,931,106	16,757,223	13,142,721	11,143,000	11,756,000	10,071,000	15,849,000
Shaanxi^[FN 18]	39,528,999	37,327,378	35,365,072	32,882,403	28,904,423	20,766,915	15,881,281	10,011,000	9,780,000	11,802,000	9,364,000
Heilongjiang^[FN 19]^[FN 20]	31,850,088	38,312,224	36,237,576	35,214,873	32,665,546	20,118,271	11,897,309	2,844,000	3,751,000	3,725,000	2,029,000
Shanxi	34,915,616	37,022,111	32,471,242	28,759,014	25,291,389	18,015,067	14,314,485	15,247,000	11,601,000	12,228,000	10,082,000
Guizhou	38,562,148	35,806,468	35,247,695	32,391,066	28,552,997	17,140,521	15,037,310	10,174,000	9,919,000	14,746,000	9,665,000
Chongqing^[FN 7]^[FN 21]	32,054,159	28,846,170	30,512,763	*	*	*	*	986,000	*	*	*
Jilin	24,073,453	27,462,297	26,802,191	24,658,721	22,560,053	15,668,663	11,290,073	6,465,000	7,354,000	7,635,000	5,580,000
Gansu^[FN 22]	25,019,831	25,575,254	25,124,282	22,371,141	19,569,261	12,630,569	12,928,102	7,091,000	6,716,000	6,281,000	4,990,000
Inner Mongolia^[FN 14]	24,049,155	24,706,321	23,323,347	21,456,798	19,274,279	12,348,638	6,100,104	*	*	*	*
Shanghai^[FN 8]^[FN 21]	24,870,895	23,019,148	16,407,734	13,341,896	11,859,748	10,816,458	6,204,417	4,630,000	3,727,000	*	*
Xinjiang^[FN 14]	25,852,345	21,813,334	18,459,511	15,155,778	13,081,681	7,270,067	4,873,608	4,047,000	4,360,000	2,552,000	2,098,000
Beijing^[FN 23]^[FN 11]^[FN 21]	21,893,095	19,612,368	13,569,194	10,819,407	9,230,687	7,568,495	2,768,149	1,722,000	1,551,000	*	*
Tianjin^[FN 12]^[FN 21]	13,866,009	12,938,224	9,848,731	8,785,402	7,764,141	*	2,693,831	1,773,000	1,218,000	*	*
Hainan^[FN 3]	10,081,232	9,261,518	7,559,035	6,557,482	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hong Kong^[FN 24]	7,474,200	7,061,200	6,708,389
Ningxia^[FN 22]^[FN 14]	7,202,654	6,176,900	5,486,393	4,655,451	3,895,578	*	*	759,000	978,000	1,450,000	303,000
Qinghai	5,923,957	5,626,722	4,822,963	4,456,946	3,895,706	2,145,604	1,676,534	1,308,000	1,196,000	619,000	368,000
Tibet^[FN 14]^[FN 25]	3,648,100	3,002,166	2,616,329	2,196,010	1,892,393	1,251,225	1,273,969
Macao^[FN 26]	683,218	552,503	435,235
Rehe^[FN 27]	*	*	*	*	*	*	5,160,822	6,197,000	6,593,000	4,630,000
Xikang^[FN 28]	*	*	*	*	*	*	3,381,064	1,697,000	890,000	*
Qahar^[FN 29]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	2,186,000	1,997,000	1,622,000
Suiyuan^[FN 30]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	2,233,000	2,124,000	630,000
Nanjing^[FN 9]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	1,114,000	*	*
Qingdao^[FN 5]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	851,000	*	*
Xi'an^[FN 31]^[FN 18]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	628,000	*	*
Dongsheng^[FN 19]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Weihai^[FN 6]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	222,000	*	*
Liaodong^[FN 32]^[FN 33]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	2,992,000	*	*
Liaobei^[FN 34]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	4,629,000	*	*
Songjiang^[FN 35]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	2,571,000	*	*
Hejiang^[FN 36]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	1,841,000	*	*
Nenjiang^[FN 37]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	3,333,000	*	*
Xing'an^[FN 38]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	328,000	*	*
Guangzhou^[FN 4]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	1,128,000	*	*
Wuhan^[FN 39]^[FN 13]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	722,000	*	*
Shenyang^[FN 16]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	1,021,000	*	*
Dalian^[FN 40]^[FN 17]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	544,000	*	*
Harbin^[FN 20]^[FN 21]	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	760,000	*	*
Taiwan^[FN 41]							7,591,298

Current population

Administrative Division		Urban (2017)	Rural (2017)	Ref.
Mainland China	0	0	0	^[12]
Guangdong	188,690,452	78,020,000	33,670,000	^[12]
Shandong	167,060,000	60,620,000	39,440,000	^[12]
Henan	163,590,000	47,950,000	47,640,000	^[12]
Jiangsu	158,020,000	42,170,000	40,850,000	^[12]
Sichuan	156,290,000	55,210,000	25,080,000	^[12]
Hebei	135,200,000	41,360,000	33,830,000	^[12]
Hunan	127,600,000	37,470,000	31,130,000	^[12]
Anhui	118,550,000	33,460,000	29,090,000	^[12]
Hubei	95,020,000	35,000,000	24,020,000	^[12]
Zhejiang	92,570,000	38,470,000	18,100,000	^[12]
Guangxi^[FN 14]	85,850,000	24,040,000	24,810,000	^[12]
Yunnan	68,010,000	22,410,000	25,590,000	^[12]
Jiangxi	65,220,000	25,240,000	20,980,000	^[12]
Liaoning	63,690,000	29,490,000	14,200,000	^[12]
Fujian	58,110,000	25,340,000	13,770,000	^[12]
Shaanxi	54,350,000	21,780,000	16,570,000	^[12]
Heilongjiang	53,890,000	22,500,000	15,380,000	^[12]
Shanxi	48,820,000	21,230,000	15,790,000	^[12]
Guizhou	45,550,000	16,480,000	19,320,000	^[12]
Chongqing^[FN 21]	33,750,000	19,710,000	11,050,000	^[12]
Jilin	27,170,000	15,390,000	11,780,000	^[12]
Gansu	26,260,000	12,180,000	14,080,090	^[12]
Inner Mongolia^[FN 14]	25,290,000	15,680,000	9,610,000	^[12]
Xinjiang^[FN 14]	24,450,000	12,070,000	12,380,000	^[12]
Shanghai^[FN 21]	24,180,000	21,210,000	2,970,000	^[12]
Beijing^[FN 21]	21,710,000	18,780,000	2,930,000	^[12]
Tianjin	15,570,000	12,910,000	2,660,000	^[12]
Hainan	9,170,000	5,370,000	3,890,000	^[12]
Hong Kong^[FN 24]	7,335,384	7,335,384	-	^[13]
Ningxia^[FN 14]	6,820,000	3,950,000	2,870,000	^[12]
Qinghai	5,980,000	3,170,000	2,810,000	^[12]
Tibet	3,370,000	1,040,000	2,330,000	^[12]
Macao^[FN 26]	644,900	644,900	-	^[14]

References

Footnotes

1. Population controlled by People's Republic of China and including Hong Kong and Macau
2. Population controlled by Republic of China
3. Hainan Province was part of Guangdong Province until 1988
4. Guangzhou was separate from Guangdong Province from 1947-1954
5. Qingdao part of Shandong Province until 1929; dissolved in 1949 and incorporated into Shandong
6. Weihai also known as Weihaiwei. Established in 1930; dissolved in 1945 and incorporated into Shandong
7. Chongqing was part of Sichuan Province until 1939 and 1954 to 1997
8. Shanghai was part of Jiangsu Province until 1927
9. Nanjing part of Jiangsu Province until 1927; dissolved in 1952 and incorporated into Jiangsu
10. Hebei was known as Zhili until 1928
11. Beijing was part of Hebei Province until 1928
12. Tianjin was part of Hebei Province until 1928 and 1954 to 1967
13. Wuhan (Hankou) part of Hubei Province until 1927; dissolved in 1949 and incorporated into Hubei
14. Autonomous Region
15. Liaoning was known as Fengtian until 1929
16. Shenyang part of Liaoning Province until 1947; dissolved in 1954 and incorporated into Liaoning
17. Dalian part of Liaoning Province until 1947; dissolved in 1954 and incorporated into Liaoning
18. Xi'an part of Shaanxi Province until 1947; dissolved in 1954 and incorporated into Shaanxi
19. Established in 1923; dissolved in 1932 and incorporated into Manchukuo / Heilongjiang (present)
20. Harbin part of Heilongjiang Province until 1947-1949 and 1953-1954
21. Direct-controlled municipality
22. Ningxia was part of Gansu until 1929 and 1954-1958
23. Beijing was known as Beiping in 1928 until 1949
24. Special Administrative Region of China since 1 July 1997; previously, from 26 January 1841 until 1 July 1997 known as British Hong Kong.
25. Controlled by Kingdom of Tibet from 1912 to 1951. Controlled by People's Republic of China after 1951
26. Special Administrative Region of China since 20 December 1999; previously, from 1557 until 20 December 1999 known as Portuguese Macau.
27. Incorporated into a province in 1928; dissolved in 1955 and incorporated into Hebei, Liaoning, & Inner Mongolia
28. Incorporated into a province in 1939; dissolved in 1955 and incorporated into Sichuan and Tibet
29. Incorporated into a province in 1928; dissolved in 1952 and incorporated into Inner Mongolia, Beijing & Hebei
30. Incorporated into a province in 1928; dissolved in 1954 and incorporated into Inner Mongolia
31. Xi'an fail to split from Shannxi in 1933; Xi'an was known as Xijing in 1933 until 1943
32. Liaodong was known as Andong in 1947 until 1949
33. Split from Liaoning Province in 1947; dissolved in 1954 and incorporated into Liaoning
34. Split from Liaoning Province in 1947; dissolved in 1949 and incorporated into Inner Mongolia and Liaoning
35. Split from Jilin Province in 1947; dissolved in 1955 and incorporated into Heilongjiang
36. Split from Jilin Province in 1947; dissolved in 1949 and incorporated into Songjiang
37. Split from Heilongjiang Province in 1947; dissolved in 1949 and incorporated into Heilongjiang
38. Split from Heilongjiang Province in 1947; dissolved in 1949 and incorporated into Inner Mongolia
39. Part of Wuhan was known as Hankou
40. Dalian was known as Lüda (Lyuda) in 1950 until 1954
41. Controlled by Japan from 17 April 1895 until 25 October 1945. Controlled by Republic of China after 25 October 1945.

Sources

1. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021.
2. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013.
3. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-08-29.
4. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-06-19.
5. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10.
6. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14.
7. . National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05.
8. 1947年全国人口. from the original on 2013-09-13. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
9. 1936-37年中国人口. from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
10. 1928年中国人口. from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
11. 1912年中国人口. from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
12. "Annual Population Census of the People's Republic of China". National Bureau of Statistics of China. from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
13. 2016 Hong Kong By-census - Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
14. Population estimate of Macau - Statistics and Census Service, Macau SAR Government