Demographics of China

This article is about the demographics of the People's Republic of China. For the demographics of the Republic of China (Taiwan), see Demographics of Taiwan.

China is the second most populous country in Asia as well as the second most populous country in the world, with a population of 1.409 billion.^[3]

Demographics of China
Population pyramid of China in November 2020
Population	1,409,670,000 (2023 est.)
Growth rate	−0.15% (2023 est.) (159th)
Birth rate	6.39 births per 1,000 (2023 est.)
Death rate	7.87 deaths per 1,000 (2023 est.)
Life expectancy	78.6 years (2022)
• male	76.0 years (2022)
• female	81.3 years (2022)
Fertility rate	1.00 children per woman (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate	6.76 deaths per 1000 live births (2022)^[1]
Age structure
0–14 years	16.48% (male 124,166,174/female 108,729,429)
15–64 years	69.4% (male 504,637,819/female 476,146,909)
65 and over	14.11% (male 92,426,805/female 107,035,710) (2023 est.)^[2]
Sex ratio
At birth	1.11 male to female (2020 est.)
65 and over	0.90 male to female (2020 est.)
Nationality
Nationality	noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Major ethnic	Han Chinese
Minor ethnic	Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghurs, Yi, Tujia, Mongols, Tibetan, Bouyei, Dong, Yao, Korean, Bai, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, She, Lisu, Gelao, Lahu, Dongxiang, Va, Sui, Nakhi, Qiang, Tu, Xibe, Mulao, Kyrgyz, Daur, Jingpo, Salar, Blang, Maonan, Tajik, Pumi, Achang, Nu, Ewenki, Gin, Jino, De'ang, Uzbeks, Russian, Yugur, Bonan, Monba, Oroqen, Derung, Tatars, Hezhen, Lhoba
Language
Official	Standard Chinese
Spoken	Various; See Languages of China

China has an enormous population with a relatively small youth component, partially a result of China's one-child policy that was implemented from 1979 until 2015. As of 2022^[update], Chinese state media reported the country's total fertility rate to be 1.09.^[4]

China was the world's most populous country from at least 1950^{[citation needed]} until being surpassed by India in 2023.^[5][6]

In 2023, China's population stood at 1.409 billion.^[3] According to the 2020 census, 91.11% of the population was Han Chinese, and 8.89% were minorities. China's population growth rate is only 0.03%, ranking 159th in the world.^[7] China conducted its sixth national population census in 2010,^[8][9] and its seventh census was completed in late 2020, with data released in May 2021.^[10]

History

Main article: Ethnic groups in Chinese history

China's population reached 1 billion in 1982, the first country to do so.^[11]

China faces the challenge of an aging population due to increased life expectancy and declining birth rates. This demographic shift has implications for social services and the labor force.^[12]

Population

Historical population

Main article: Population history of China

 

Historical population in China from 400 BC^[13]

 

Historical population of India and China since 1100 with projection to 2100

During 1960–2015, the population grew to nearly 1.4 billion. Under Mao Zedong, China nearly doubled in population from 540 million in 1949 to 969 million in 1979. This growth slowed because of the one-child policy instituted in 1979.^[13] The 2022 data shows a declining population for the first time since 1961.^[14]

 

Population pyramid of China from 1950 to 2022

 

Age structure projections for China up to 2100

Censuses in China

Main article: Census in China

The People's Republic of China conducted censuses in 1953, 1964, 1982, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. In 1987, the government announced that the fourth national census would take place in 1990 and that there would be one every ten years thereafter. The 1982 census (which reported a total population of 1,008,180,738) is generally accepted as significantly more reliable, accurate, and thorough than the previous two.^[15] Various international organizations eagerly assisted the Chinese in conducting the 1982 census, including the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, which donated US$100.0 million between 1980 and 1989 for a variety of projects, one of which being the 1982 census.^[16]

China was the world's most populous nation for many centuries,^{[citation needed]} until being surpassed by India in 2023.^[17] When China took its first post-1949 census in 1953, the population stood at 583 million; by the fifth census in 2000, the population had more than doubled, reaching 1.2 billion.

By the sixth census in 2020, the total population had reached to 1,419,933,142, with the mainland having 1,411,778,724, Hong Kong having 7,474,200, and Macau having 683,218. However, this number is disputed by obstetrics researcher Yi Fuxian, who argues that data related to population growth is inflated by local governments to obtain financial subsidies from the central government.^[18]

Population of China by age and sex (demographic pyramid)

•  
  China population pyramid as of 1st National Census day on June 30, 1953
•  
  China population pyramid as of 2nd National Census day on July 1, 1964
•  
  China population pyramid as of 3rd National Census day on July 1, 1982
•  
  China population pyramid as of 4th National Census day on July 1, 1990
•  
  China population pyramid as of 5th National Census day on November 1, 2000
•  
  China population pyramid as of 6th National Census day on November 1, 2010
•  
  China population pyramid as of 7th National Census day on November 1, 2020
•  
  China population pyramid as projected of 8th National Census day on November 1, 2030, in scenario of constant TFR at 2021 level and continued improvements in mortality

Population of China by province 1953–2020^[19][20]

Province or autonomous region	Census 1953		Census 1964		Census 1982		Census 1990		Census 2000		Census 2010		Census 2020
	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%
Beijing Municipality	3,768,149	1.48	8,568,495	1.23	9,230,687	3.92	11,819,407	0.95	13,820,000	1.09	19,612,368	1.46	21,893,095	1.55
Hebei	35,984,644	6.18	49,687,781	6.58	53,005,876	5.26	61,082,439	5.39	67,440,000	5.33	79,854,202	5.36	74,610,235	5.28
Tianjin Municipality	2,693,831	0.46			7,764,141	0.77	8,785,402	0.77	10,010,000	0.79	12,938,224	0.97	13,866,009	0.98
Shanxi	14,314,485	2.46	18,015,067	2.59	25,291,389	2.51	28,759,014	2.54	32,970,000	2.60	35,712,111	2.67	34,915,616	2.47
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	6,100,104	1.05	12,348,638	1.78	19,274,279	1.91	21,456,798	1.89	23,760,000	1.88	24,706,321	1.84	24,049,155	1.70
Rehe (now defunct)	5,160,822	0.89
Liaoning	18,545,147	3.18	26,946,200	3.88	35,721,693	3.54	39,459,697	3.48	42,380,000	3.35	43,746,323	3.27	42,591,407	3.02
Jilin	11,290,073	1.94	15,668,663	2.26	22,560,053	2.24	24,658,721	2.18	27,280,000	2.16	27,462,297	2.05	24,073,453	1.71
Heilongjiang	11,897,309	2.04	20,118,271	2.90	32,665,546	3.24	35,214,873	3.11	39,890,000	2.91	38,312,224	2.86	31,850,088	2.26
Shanghai Municipality	6,204,417	1.06	10,816,458	1.56	11,859,748	1.18	13,341,896	1.18	16,740,000	1.32	23,019,148	1.72	24,870,895	1.76
Jiangsu	41,252,192	7.08	44,504,608	6.41	60,521,114	6.00	67,056,519	5.91	74,380,000	5.88	77,659,903	5.87	84,748,016	6.00
Zhejiang	22,865,747	3.92	28,318,573	4.08	38,884,603	3.86	41,445,930	3.66	46,770,000	3.69	54,426,891	4.06	64,567,588	4.57
Anhui	30,343,637	5.21	31,241,657	4.50	49,665,724	4.93	56,180,813	4.96	59,860,000	4.73	59,500,510	4.44	61,027,171	4.32
Fujian	13,142,721	2.26	16,757,223	2.41	25,931,106	2.57	30,097,274	2.65	34,710,000	2.74	36,894,216	2.75	41,540,086	2.94
Jiangxi	16,772,865	2.88	21,068,019	3.03	33,184,827	3.29	37,710,281	3.33	41,400,000	3.27	44,567,475	3.33	45,188,635	3.20
Shandong	48,876,548	8.39	55,519,038	7.99	74,419,054	7.38	84,392,827	7.44	90,790,000	7.17	95,793,065	7.15	101,527,453	7.19
Henan	44,214,594	7.59	50,325,511	7.25	74,422,739	7.38	85,509,535	7.54	92,560,000	7.31	94,023,567	7.02	99,365,519	7.04
Hubei	27,789,693	4.77	33,709,344	4.85	47,804,150	4.74	53,969,210	4.76	60,280,000	4.76	57,237,740	4.27	57,752,557	4.09
Hunan	33,226,954	5.70	37,182,286	5.35	54,008,851	5.36	60,659,754	5.35	64,440,000	5.09	65,683,722	4.90	66,444,864	4.71
Guangdong	34,770,059	5.97	42,800,849	6.16	59,299,220	5.88	62,829,236	5.54	86,420,000	6.83	104,303,132	7.79	126,012,510	8.93
Hainan									7,870,000	0.62	8,671,518	0.65	10,081,232	0.71
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region	19,560,822	3.36	20,845,017	3.00	36,420,960	3.61	42,245,765	3.73	44,890,000	3.55	46,026,629	3.55	50,126,804	3.55
Sichuan	62,303,999	10.69	67,956,490	9.78	99,713,310	9.89	107,218,173	9.46	83,290,000	6.58	80,418,200	6.00	83,674,866	5.93
Chongqing Municipality^[note 1]									30,900,000	2.44	28,846,170	2.15	32,054,159	2.27
Guizhou	15,037,310	2.58	17,140,521	2.47	28,552,997	2.83	32,391,066	2.86	35,250,000	2.78	34,746,468	2.59	38,562,148	2.73
Yunnan	17,472,737	3.00	20,509,525	2.95	32,553,817	3.23	36,972,610	3.26	42,880,000	3.39	45,966,239	3.43	47,209,277	3.34
Tibet Autonomous Region	1,273,969	0.22	1,251,225	0.18	1,892,393	0.19	2,196,010	0.19	2,620,000	0.21	3,002,166	0.22	3,648,100	0.26
Xikang (now defunct)	3,381,064	0.58
Shaanxi	15,881,281	2.73	20,766,915	2.99	28,904,423	2.87	32,882,403	2.90	36,050,000	2.85	37,327,378	2.79	39,528,999	2.80
Gansu	12,093,600	2.06	12,630,569	1.82	19,569,261	1.94	22,371,141	1.97	25,620,000	2.02	25,575,254	1.91	25,019,831	1.77
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region	1,506,200	0.26	2,107,500	0.30	3,895,578	0.39	4,655,451	0.41	5,620,000	0.44	6,301,350	0.47	7,202,654	0.51
Qinghai	1,676,534	0.29	2,145,604	0.31	3,895,706	0.39	4,456,946	0.39	5,180,000	0.41	5,626,722	0.42	5,923,957	0.42
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region	4,873,608	0.84	7,270,067	1.05	13,081,681	1.30	15,155,778	1.34	19,250,000	1.52	21,813,334	1.63	25,852,345	1.83
Military personnel					4,238,210		3,199,100		2,500,000		2,300,000		2,000,000
Population with permanent residence difficult to define											4,649,985
Total China	582,603,417		694,581,759		1,008,175,288		1,133,682,501		1,265,830,000		1,339,724,852		1,411,778,724

In 1982 China conducted its first population census since 1964. It was by far the most thorough and accurate census taken since 1949 and confirmed that China was a nation of more than 1 billion people, or about one-fifth of the world's population. The census provided demographers with a set of data on China's age-sex structure, fertility and mortality rates, and population density and distribution. Information was also gathered on minority ethnic groups, urban population, and marital status. For the first time since the People's Republic of China was founded, demographers had reliable information on the size and composition of the Chinese work force. The nation began preparing for the 1982 census in late 1976. Chinese census workers were sent to the United States and Japan to study modern census-taking techniques and automation. Computers were installed in every provincial-level unit except Tibet and were connected to a central processing system in the Beijing headquarters of the State Statistical Bureau. Pretests and small scale trial runs were conducted and checked for accuracy between 1980 and 1981 in twenty-four provincial-level units. Census stations were opened in rural production brigades and urban neighborhoods. Beginning on 1 July 1982, each household sent a representative to a census station to be enumerated. The census required about a month to complete and employed approximately 5 million census takers.

The 1982 census collected data in nineteen demographic categories relating to individuals and households. The thirteen areas concerning individuals were name, relationship to head of household, sex, age, nationality, registration status, educational level, profession, occupation, status of nonworking persons, marital status, number of children born and still living, and number of births in 1981. The six items pertaining to households were type (domestic or collective), serial number, number of persons, number of births in 1981, number of deaths in 1981, and number of registered persons absent for more than one year. Information was gathered in a number of important areas for which previous data were either extremely inaccurate or simply nonexistent, including fertility, marital status, urban population, minority ethnic groups, sex composition, age distribution, and employment and unemployment.

A fundamental anomaly in the 1982 statistics was noted by some Western analysts. They pointed out that although the birth and death rates recorded by the census and those recorded through the household registration system were different, the two systems arrived at similar population totals. The discrepancies in the vital rates were the result of the underreporting of both births and deaths to the authorities under the registration system; families would not report some births because of the one-child policy and would not report some deaths so as to hold on to the rations of the deceased.

Nevertheless, the 1982 census was a watershed for both Chinese and world demographics. After an eighteen-year gap, population specialists were given a wealth of reliable, up-to-date figures on which to reconstruct past demographic patterns, measure current population conditions, and predict future population trends. For example, Chinese and foreign demographers used the 1982 census age-sex structure as the base population for forecasting and making assumptions about future fertility trends. The data on age-specific fertility and mortality rates provided the necessary base-line information for making population projections. The census data also were useful for estimating future manpower potential, consumer needs, and utility, energy, and health-service requirements. The sudden abundance of demographic data helped population specialists immeasurably in their efforts to estimate world population. Previously, there had been no accurate information on these 21% of the Earth's inhabitants. Demographers who had been conducting research on global population without accurate data on the Chinese fifth of the world's population were particularly thankful for the 1982 breakthrough census.

Population control

See also: One-child policy and Two-child policy

 

Birth rate in China

Initially, China's post-1949 leaders were ideologically disposed to view a large population as an asset. But the liabilities of a large, rapidly growing population soon became apparent. For one year, starting in August 1956, vigorous support was given to the Ministry of Public Health's mass birth control efforts. These efforts, however, had little impact on fertility. After the interval of the Great Leap Forward, Chinese leaders again saw rapid population growth as an obstacle to development, and their interest in birth control revived. In the early 1960s, schemes somewhat more muted than during the first campaign, emphasized the virtues of late marriage. Birth control offices were set up in the central government and some provincial-level governments in 1964. The second campaign was particularly successful in the cities, where the birth rate was cut in half during the 1963–66 period. The upheaval of the Cultural Revolution brought the program to a halt, however.

In 1972 and 1973 the party mobilized its resources for a nationwide birth control campaign administered by a group in the State Council. Committees to oversee birth control activities were established at all administrative levels and in various collective enterprises. This extensive and seemingly effective network covered both the rural and the urban population. In urban areas public security headquarters included population control sections. In rural areas the country's "barefoot doctors" distributed information and contraceptives to people's commune members. By 1973 Mao Zedong was personally identified with the family planning movement, signifying a greater leadership commitment to controlled population growth than ever before. Yet until several years after Mao's death in 1976, the leadership was reluctant to put forth directly the rationale that population control was necessary for economic growth and improved living standards.^{[citation needed]}

Population growth targets were set for both administrative units and individual families. In the mid-1970s the maximum recommended family size was two children in cities and three or four in the country. Since 1979 the government has advocated a one-child limit for both rural and urban areas and has generally set a maximum of two children in special circumstances. As of 1986 the policy for minority nationalities was two children per couple, three in special circumstances, and no limit for ethnic groups with very small populations. The overall goal of the one-child policy was to keep the total population within 1.2 billion through the year 2000, on the premise that the Four Modernizations program would be of little value if population growth was not brought under control.

The one-child policy was a highly ambitious population control program. Like previous programs of the 1960s and 1970s, the one-child policy employed a combination of public education, social pressure, and in some cases coercion. The one-child policy was unique, however, in that it linked reproduction with economic cost or benefit.

Under the one-child program, a sophisticated system rewarded those who observed the policy and penalized those who did not. Through this policy, the rate of increasing population was tempered after the penalties were made. Couples with only one child were given a "one-child certificate" entitling them to such benefits as cash bonuses, longer maternity leave, better child care, and preferential housing assignments. In return, they were required to pledge that they would not have more children. In the countryside, there was great pressure to adhere to the one-child limit. Because the rural population accounted for approximately 60% of the total, the effectiveness of the one-child policy in rural areas was considered the key to the success or failure of the program as a whole.

In rural areas the day-to-day work of family planning was done by cadres at the team and brigade levels who were responsible for women's affairs and by health workers. The women's team leader made regular household visits to keep track of the status of each family under her jurisdiction and collected information on which women were using contraceptives, the methods used, and which had become pregnant. She then reported to the brigade women's leader, who documented the information and took it to a monthly meeting of the commune birth-planning committee. According to reports, ceilings or quotas had to be adhered to; to satisfy these cutoffs, unmarried young people were persuaded to postpone marriage, couples without children were advised to "wait their turn," women with unauthorized pregnancies were pressured to have abortions, and those who already had children were urged to use contraception or undergo sterilization. Couples with more than one child were exhorted to be sterilized.^{[citation needed]}

The one-child policy enjoyed much greater success in urban than in rural areas. Even without state intervention, there were compelling reasons for urban couples to limit the family to a single child. Raising a child required a significant portion of family income, and in the cities a child did not become an economic asset until he or she entered the work force at age sixteen. Couples with only one child were given preferential treatment in housing allocation. In addition, because city dwellers who were employed in state enterprises received pensions after retirement, the sex of their first child was less important to them than it was to those in rural areas.^[21]

Numerous reports surfaced of coercive measures used to achieve the desired results of the one-child policy. The alleged methods ranged from intense psychological pressure to the use of physical force, including some grisly accounts of forced abortions and infanticide. Chinese officials admitted that isolated, uncondoned abuses of the program occurred and that they condemned such acts, but they insisted that the family planning program was administered on a voluntary basis using persuasion and economic measures only. International reaction to the allegations were mixed. The UN Fund for Population Activities and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were generally supportive of China's family planning program. The United States Agency for International Development, however, withdrew US$10 million from the Fund in March 1985 based on allegations that coercion had been used.

Observers suggested that an accurate assessment of the one-child program would not be possible until all women who came of childbearing age in the early 1980s passed their fertile years. As of 1987 the one-child program had achieved mixed results. In general, it was very successful in almost all urban areas but less successful in rural areas.^{[citation needed]}

Rapid fertility reduction associated with the one-child policy has potentially negative results. For instance, in the future the elderly might not be able to rely on their children to care for them as they have in the past, leaving the state to assume the expense, which could be considerable. Based on United Nations and Chinese government statistics, it was estimated in 1987 that by 2000 the population 60 years and older (the retirement age is 60 in urban areas) would number 127 million, or 10.1% of the total population; the projection for 2025 was 234 million elderly, or 16.4%. According to projections based on the 1982 census, if the one-child policy were maintained to the year 2000, 25% of China's population would be age 65 or older by 2040. In 2050, the number of people over 60 is expected to increase to 430 million.^[22] Even though China has already opened two-child policy since 2016, data shows that the second-child policy cannot stop the problem of an aging population. China needs to find an appropriate birth policy to optimize the demographic dividend, which refers to the proportion of labor-age population.^[23] On the other hand, the higher house prices squeeze the marriage in China. The house price plays an important role on the influence of marriage and fertility. The increasing house price leads to the lower marriage rate and cause the other serious social problems in China.^[24]

In 2024, researchers from Victoria University and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences forecast that China's population will fall to approximately 525 million by 2100 at current rates.^[25] This revision, reducing the population estimate to 525 million from a previous forecast of 597 million by 2100, indicates a sharper decline than previously anticipated.^[25]

Population density and distribution

 

Population density in the year 2000

China is the second most populous country in the world and its national population density (137/km²) is very similar to those of countries like Denmark (excluding Greenland) or the Czech Republic. However, the overall population density of China conceals major regional variations. In 2002, about 94% of the population lived east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line; although this eastern area comprises only 43% of China's total land area, its population density, at roughly 280/km², is comparable to that of Japan.

Broadly speaking, the population was concentrated east of the Tibetan Plateau and south of the northern steppe. The most densely populated areas included the Yangtze River Valley (of which the delta region was the most populous), Sichuan Basin, North China Plain, Pearl River Delta, and the industrial area around the city of Shenyang in the northeast.

Population is most sparse in the mountainous, desert, and grassland regions of the northwest and southwest. In Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, portions are completely uninhabited, and only a few sections have populations denser than ten people per km². The Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet autonomous regions and Qinghai and Gansu comprise 55% of the country's land area but in 1985 contained only 5.7% of its population.

		Area (km^2)	Population	Density
China		9,650,000 (100%)	1,411,778,724 (100%)	134.7/km^2
5 provinces		5,246,400 (54.45%)	84,493,388 (5.98%)	15.16/km^2
	Inner Mongolia	1,183,000 (12.28% )	24,049,155 (1.70%)	20.33/km^2
	Xinjiang	1,660,000 (17.23%)	25,852,345 (1.83%)	12.62/km^2
	Tibet	1,228,400 (12.75%)	3,648,100 (0.26%)	2.31/km^2
	Qinghai	721,000 (7.48%)	5,923,957 (0.42%)	7.65/km^2
	Gansu	454,000 (4.71%)	25,019,831 (1.77%)	57.65/km^2
Other provinces		4,403,605 (45.55%)	1,327,285,336 (94.02%)	277.27/km^2
Source: National Bureau of Statistics

Vital statistics

 

China population changes 1949 - 2022^{[needs update]}

Table of births and deaths 1949–2023

	Midyear population	Live births^1	Deaths^1	Natural change^1	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate
1949	537,371,000	19,345,000	10,747,000	8,598,000	36.0	20.0	16.0
1950	546,815,000	20,232,000	9,843,000	10,389,000	37.0	18.0	19.0	5.29
1951	557,480,000	21,073,000	9,923,000	11,150,000	37.8	17.8	20.0
1952	568,910,000	21,050,000	9,671,000	11,379,000	37.0	17.0	20.0
1953	581,390,000	21,511,000	8,139,000	13,372,000	37.0	14.0	23.0
1954	595,310,000	22,604,000	7,846,000	14,758,000	37.97	13.18	24.79
1955	608,655,000	19,842,000	7,474,000	12,368,000	32.60	12.28	20.32	5.98
1956	621,465,000	19,825,000	7,085,000	12,740,000	31.90	11.40	20.50
1957	637,405,000	21,691,000	6,884,000	14,807,000	34.03	10.80	23.23
1958	653,235,000	19,088,000	7,826,000	11,262,000	29.22	11.98	17.24
1959	666,005,000	16,504,000	9,717,000	6,787,000	24.78	14.59	10.19
1960	667,070,000	13,915,000	16,964,000	−3,049,000	20.86	25.43	−4.57	3.99
1961	660,330,000	11,899,000	9,403,000	2,496,000	18.02	14.24	3.78	3.37
1962	665,770,000	24,640,000	6,671,000	17,969,000	37.01	10.02	26.99
1963	682,335,000	29,593,000	6,851,000	22,742,000	43.37	10.04	33.33	6.88
1964	698,355,000	27,334,000	8,031,000	19,303,000	39.14	11.50	27.64
1965	715,185,000	27,091,000	6,794,000	20,297,000	37.88	9.50	28.38	6.02
1966	735,400,000	25,776,000	6,494,000	19,282,000	35.05	8.83	26.22
1967	754,550,000	25,625,000	6,361,000	19,264,000	33.96	8.43	25.53
1968	774,510,000	27,565,000	6,359,000	21,206,000	35.59	8.21	27.38
1969	796,025,000	27,152,000	6,392,000	20,760,000	34.11	8.03	26.08
1970	818,315,000	27,356,000	6,219,000	21,137,000	33.43	7.60	25.83	5.75
1971	841,105,000	25,780,000	6,157,000	19,623,000	30.65	7.32	23.33
1972	862,030,000	25,663,000	6,560,000	19,103,000	29.77	7.61	22.16
1973	881,940,000	24,633,000	6,209,000	18,424,000	27.93	7.04	20.89
1974	900,350,000	22,347,000	6,609,000	15,738,000	24.82	7.34	17.48
1975	916,395,000	21,086,000	6,708,000	14,378,000	23.01	7.32	15.69	3.58
1976	930,685,000	18,530,000	6,747,000	11,783,000	19.91	7.25	12.66
1977	943,455,000	17,860,000	6,482,000	11,378,000	18.93	6.87	12.06
1978	956,165,000	17,450,000	5,976,000	11,474,000	18.25	6.25	12.00
1979	969,005,000	17,268,000	6,018,000	11,250,000	18.21	6.21	11.87
1980	981,235,000	17,868,000	6,221,000	11,647,000	18.21	6.34	11.87	2.32
1981	993,885,000	20,782,000	6,321,000	14,461,000	20.91	6.36	14.55
1982	1,008,630,000	21,260,000	6,653,000	14,607,000	22.28	6.60	15.68
1983	1,023,310,000	18,996,000	7,223,000	11,773,000	20.19	6.90	13.29
1984	1,036,825,000	18,022,000	6,890,000	11,132,000	19.90	6.82	13.08
1985	1,051,040,000	21,994,000	7,087,000	14,907,000	21.04	6.78	14.26	2.65
1986	1,066,790,000	23,928,000	7,318,000	16,610,000	22.43	6.86	15.57
1987	1,084,035,000	25,291,000	7,285,000	18,006,000	23.33	6.72	16.61
1988	1,101,630,000	24,643,000	7,315,000	17,328,000	22.37	6.64	15.73
1989	1,118,650,000	24,140,000	7,316,000	16,824,000	21.58	6.54	15.04
1990	1,135,185,000	23,910,000	7,570,000	16,340,000	21.06	6.67	14.39	2.43
1991	1,150,780,000	22,650,000	7,710,000	14,940,000	19.68	6.70	12.98
1992	1,164,970,000	21,250,000	7,740,000	13,510,000	18.24	6.64	11.60
1993	1,178,440,000	21,320,000	7,820,000	13,500,000	18.09	6.64	11.45
1994	1,191,835,000	21,100,000	7,740,000	13,360,000	17.70	6.49	11.21
1995	1,204,855,000	20,630,000	7,920,000	12,710,000	17.12	6.57	10.55	1.68
1996	1,217,550,000	20,670,000	7,990,000	12,680,000	16.98	6.56	10.42
1997	1,230,075,000	20,380,000	8,010,000	12,370,000	16.57	6.51	10.06
1998	1,241,935,000	19,420,000	8,070,000	11,350,000	15.64	6.50	9.14
1999	1,252,735,000	18,340,000	8,090,000	10,250,000	14.64	6.46	8.18
2000	1,262,645,000	17,710,000	8,140,000	9,570,000	14.03	6.45	7.58	1.45
2001	1,271,850,000	17,020,000	8,180,000	8,840,000	13.38	6.43	6.95
2002	1,280,400,000	16,470,000	8,210,000	8,260,000	12.86	6.41	6.45
2003	1,288,400,000	15,990,000	8,250,000	7,740,000	12.41	6.40	6.01
2004	1,296,075,000	15,930,000	8,320,000	7,610,000	12.29	6.42	5.87
2005	1,303,720,000	16,170,000	8,490,000	7,680,000	12.40	6.51	5.89	1.51
2006	1,311,020,000	15,850,000	8,930,000	6,920,000	12.09	6.81	5.28	1.50
2007	1,317,885,000	15,940,000	9,130,000	6,810,000	12.10	6.93	5.17	1.53
2008	1,324,655,000	16,080,000	9,350,000	6,730,000	12.14	7.06	5.08	1.55
2009	1,331,260,000	15,910,000	9,430,000	6,480,000	11.95	7.08	4.87	1.54
2010	1,337,705,000	15,920,000	9,510,000	6,410,000	11.90	7.11	4.79	1.54
2011	1,345,035,000	17,970,000	9,600,000	8,370,000	13.27	7.14	6.13
2012	1,354,190,000	19,730,000	9,660,000	10,070,000	14.57	7.13	7.43
2013	1,363,240,000	17,760,000	9,720,000	8,040,000	13.03	7.13	5.9
2014	1,371,860,000	18,970,000	9,770,000	9,200,000	13.83	7.12	6.71
2015	1,379,860,000	16,550,000	9,750,000	6,800,000	11.99	7.07	4.93	1.57
2016	1,387,790,000	17,860,000	9,770,000	8,090,000	12.95	7.09	5.86	1.70
2017	1,396,215,000	17,230,000	9,860,000	7,370,000	12.64	7.06	5.58	1.67
2018	1,402,760,000	15,230,000	9,930,000	5,300,000	10.86	7.08	3.78	1.55
2019	1,407,745,000	14,650,000	9,980,000	4,670,000	10.41	7.09	3.32	1.50
2020	1,411,100,000	12,020,000	9,970,000	2,050,000	8.52	7.07	1.45	1.28
2021	1,412,360,000	10,620,000	10,140,000	480,000	7.52	7.18	0.34	1.16
2022^[4]	1,411,750,000	9,560,000	10,410,000	−850,000	6.77	7.37	−0.60	1.09
2023^[26]	1,409,670,000	9,020,000	11,100,000	−2,080,000	6.39	7.87	−1.48	1.07(e)

Total fertility rate from 1930 to 1949

Children born per woman from 1930 to 1949. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.^[27]

Years	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940^[27]
Total fertility rate in China	5.5	5.47	5.45	5.43	5.4	5.38	5.35	5.32	5.3	5.28	5.25

Years	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949^[27]
Total fertility rate in China	5.15	5.06	4.96	4.86	4.77	5	5.2	4.91	5.54

Structure of the population

Population by Sex and Age Group (as of November 01, 2010). For statistical purposes, the data for China do not include those for Hong Kong and Macau. Data exclude 2.3 million servicemen, 4.65 million persons with permanent resident status difficult to define, and 0.12 per cent undercount based on the post enumeration survey:^[28]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	682 329 104	650 481 765	1 332 810 869	100
0–4	41 062 566	34 470 044	75 532 610	5.67
5–9	38 464 665	32 416 884	70 881 549	5.32
10–14	40 267 277	34 641 185	74 908 462	5.62
15–19	51 904 830	47 984 284	99 889 114	7.49
20–24	64 008 573	63 403 945	127 412 518	9.56
25–29	50 837 038	50 176 814	101 013 852	7.58
30–34	49 521 822	47 616 381	97 138 203	7.29
35–39	60 391 104	57 634 855	118 025 959	8.86
40–44	63 608 678	61 145 286	124 753 964	9.36
45–49	53 776 418	51 818 135	105 594 553	7.92
50–54	40 363 234	38 389 937	78 753 171	5.91
55–59	41 082 938	40 229 536	81 312 474	6.10
60–64	29 834 426	28 832 856	58 667 282	4.40
65–69	20 748 471	20 364 811	41 113 282	3.08
70–74	16 403 453	16 568 944	32 972 397	2.47
75–79	11 278 859	12 573 274	23 852 133	1.79
80–84	5 917 502	7 455 696	13 373 198	1.00
85–89	2 199 810	3 432 118	5 631 928	0.42
90–94	530 872	1 047 435	1 578 307	0.12
95–99	117 716	252 263	369 979	0.03
100+	8 852	27 082	35 934	<0.01
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	119 794 508	101 528 113	221 322 621	16.61
15–64	505 329 061	487 232 029	992 561 090	74.47
65+	57 205 535	61 721 623	118 927 158	8.92

Life expectancy

See also: List of Chinese administrative divisions by life expectancy

 

Map of Chinese regions by life expectancy in 2019^[29]

 

Life expectancy in China since 1960 by gender

Source: UN World Population Prospects^[30]

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	43.8	1985–1990	68.9
1955–1960	44.5	1990–1995	69.7
1960–1965	44.6	1995–2000	70.9
1965–1970	55.5	2000–2005	73.1
1970–1975	61.7	2005–2010	74.7
1975–1980	65.5	2010–2015	75.7
1980–1985	67.8

Fertility and mortality

 

Traffic in Beijing

See also: Aging of China

In 1949 crude death rates were probably higher than 30 per 1,000, and the average life expectancy was only 35 years. Beginning in the early 1950s, mortality steadily declined; it continued to decline through 1978 and remained relatively constant through 1987. One major fluctuation was reported in a computer reconstruction of China's population trends from 1953 to 1987 produced by the United States Bureau of the Census. The computer model showed that the crude death rate increased dramatically during the famine years associated with the Great Leap Forward (1958–60).^{[citation needed]}

According to Chinese government statistics, the crude birth rate followed five distinct patterns from 1949 to 1982. It remained stable from 1949 to 1954, varied widely from 1955 to 1965, experienced fluctuations between 1966 and 1969, dropped sharply in the late 1970s, and increased from 1980 to 1981. Between 1970 and 1980, the crude birth rate dropped from 33.4 per 1,000 to 18.2 per 1,000. The government attributed this dramatic decline in fertility to the wǎn xī shǎo ("晚、稀、少", or "late, long, few": later marriages, longer intervals between births, and fewer children) birth control campaign. However, elements of socioeconomic change, such as increased employment of women in both urban and rural areas and reduced infant mortality (a greater percentage of surviving children would tend to reduce demand for additional children), may have played some role. The birth rate increased in the 1980s to a level over 20 per 1,000, primarily as a result of a marked rise in marriages and first births. The rise was an indication of problems with the one-child policy of 1979. Chinese sources, however, indicate that the birth rate started to decrease again in the 1990s and reached a level of around 12 per 1,000 in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

In urban areas, the housing shortage may have been at least partly responsible for the decreased birth rate. Also, the policy in force during most of the 1960s and the early 1970s of sending large numbers of high school graduates to the countryside deprived cities of a significant proportion of persons of childbearing age and undoubtedly had some effect on birth rates (see Cultural Revolution (1966–76)). Primarily for economic reasons, rural birth rates tended to decline less than urban rates. The right to grow and sell agricultural products for personal profit and the lack of an old-age welfare system were incentives for rural people to produce many children, especially sons, for help in the fields and for support in old age. Because of these conditions, it is unclear to what degree education had been able to erode traditional values favoring large families.^{[citation needed]}

China exhibits a serious gender imbalance. Census data obtained in 2000 revealed that 119 boys were born for every 100 girls, and among China's "floating population" the ratio was as high as 128:100. These situations led the government in July 2004 to ban selective abortions of female fetuses. It is estimated that this imbalance will rise until 2025–2030 to reach 20% then slowly decrease.^[31]

Total fertility rate

According to the 2000 census, the TFR was 1.22 (0.86 for cities, 1.08 for towns and 1.43 for villages/outposts). Beijing had the lowest TFR at 0.67, while Guizhou had the highest at 2.19. The Xiangyang district of Jiamusi city (Heilongjiang) has a TFR of 0.41, which is the lowest TFR recorded anywhere in the world in recorded history. Other extremely low TFR counties are: 0.43 in the Heping district of Tianjin city (Tianjin), and 0.46 in the Mawei district of Fuzhou city (Fujian). At the other end TFR was 3.96 in Geji County (Tibet), 4.07 in Jiali County (Tibet), and 5.47 in Baqing County (Tibet).^[32]

The 2010 census reported a TFR of 1.18 (0.88 in cities, 1.15 in townships, and 1.44 in rural areas).^[33] The five regions with the lowest fertility rates were Beijing (0.71), Shanghai (0.74), Liaoning (0.74), Heilongjiang (0.75), and Jilin (0.76). The five regions with the highest fertility rates were Guangxi (1.79), Guizhou (1.75), Xinjiang (1.53), Hainan (1.51), and Anhui (1.48).^[33]

The 2020 census reported a TFR of 1.301, with 1.118 in cities, 1.395 in townships, and 1.543 in rural areas.^[34] The shift of fertility rate recorded in 2020 census compared to that in the previous 2 censuses may not be an actual recovery, but rather due to the low quality and massive underreporting of lower-age groups in the 2000 and 2010 censuses, while the population control policy in China back then may also give families an incentive to hide their children, which is largely relieved as the policy changed in 2010s. This can be demonstrated by the much lower number of population aged 0~4 and 5~9 in the 2000 and 2010 censuses ^[35][36] when compared to the corresponding age groups in 2020.^[37]

Total fertility rate by ethnic group (2010 census): Han (1.14), Zhuang (1.59), Hui (1.48), Manchu (1.18), Uyghur (2.04), Miao (1.82), Yi (1.82), Tujia (1.74), Tibetan (1.60), Mongols (1.26).^[38]

Labor force

In 2012, for the first time, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in January 2013, the number of people theoretically able to enter the Chinese labor force (individuals aged 15 to 59), shrank slightly to 937.27 million, a decrease of 3.45 million from 2011. This trend, resulting from a demographic transition, is anticipated to continue until at least 2030.^[39] The World Factbook estimated the 2019 active labor force was 774.71 million.^[40]

Height and weight

As of 2020, the average Chinese man was 169.7 centimeters tall (5 ft 7 in) in 2019, the figures showed, and women's average height was 158 centimeters (5 ft 2.2 in). The same study showed an average Chinese man weighed 69.6 kilograms (153.4 lbs, or 11 stone 0 lbs), up 3.4 kilograms (7.5 lbs) over 10 years, while women were 1.7 kilograms (3.8 pounds) heavier on average at 59 kilograms (130.1 pounds, or 9 stone 4.1 lbs). They were up 1.2 centimeters (0.47  in) and 0.8 centimeters (0.31 in) respectively from 5 years earlier.^[41]

Gender balance

Future challenges for China will be the gender disparity. According to the 2020 census, males account for 51.24% of China's 1.41 billion people, while females made up 48.76% of the total. The sex ratio (the number of males for each female in a population) at birth was 118.06 boys to every 100 girls (54.14%) in 2010, higher than the 116.86 (53.89%) of 2000, but 0.53 points lower than the ratio of 118.59 (54.25%) in 2005.^[42] In most Western countries the sex ratio at birth is around 105 boys to 100 girls (51.22%).

Ethnic groups

For a more comprehensive list, see List of ethnic groups in China.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are Han, who constitute 91.51% of the total population in 2010. Ethnic minorities constitute 8.49% or 113.8 million of China's population in 2010. During the past decades ethnic minorities have experienced higher growth rates than the majority Han population, because they are not under the one-child policy. Their proportion of the population in China has grown from 6.1% in 1953, to 8.04% in 1990, 8.41% in 2000, and 8.49% in 2010. Large ethnic minorities (data according to the 2000 census) include the Zhuang (16 million, 1.28%), Manchu (10 million, 0.84%), Uyghur (9 million, 0.78%), Hui (9 million, 0.71%), Miao (8 million, 0.71%), Yi (7 million, 0.61%), Tujia (5.75 million, 0.63%), Mongols (5 million, 0.46%), Tibetan (5 million, 0.43%), Buyei (3 million, 0.23%), and Korean (2 million, 0.15%). Over 126,000 Westerners from Canada, the US and Europe are living in mainland China.^[43] Almost 1% of people living in Hong Kong are Westerners.

Population of China according to ethnic group in censuses 1953–2020^[19]

Ethnic group	Language family	1953	%	1964	%	1982	%	1990	%	2000	%	2010^[44]	%	2020^[45]^[46]	%
Han	Sino-Tibetan	547,283,057	93.94	651,296,368	94.22	936,703,824	93.30	1,039,187,548	91.92	1,137,386,112	91.53	1,220,844,520	91.60	1,286,310,000	91.11
Minority groups		35,320,360	6.06	39,883,909	5.78	67,233,254	6.67	90,570,743	8.01	105,225,173	8.47	111,966,349	8.40	125,470,000	8.89
Zhuang	Tai-Kadai	6,611,455	1.13	8,386,140	1.21	13,441,900	1.32	15,555,820	1.38	16,178,811	1.28	16,926,381	1.27	19,568,546	1.39
Uyghurs	Turkic	3,640,125	0.62	3,996,311	0.58	5,917,030	0.59	7,207,024	0.64	8,399,393	0.66	10,069,346	0.76	11,774,538	0.84
Hui	Sino-Tibetan	3,559,350	0.61	4,473,147	0.64	7,207,780	0.71	8,612,001	0.76	9,816,802	0.78	10,586,087	0.79	11,377,914	0.81
Miao	Hmong-Mien	2,511,339	0.43	2,782,088	0.40	5,017,260	0.50	7,383,622	0.65	8,940,116	0.71	9,426,007	0.71	11,067,929	0.79
Manchu	Tungusic	2,418,931	0.42	2,695,675	0.39	4,299,950	0.43	9,846,776	0.87	10,682,263	0.84	10,387,958	0.78	10,423,303	0.74
Yi	Sino-Tibetan	3,254,269	0.56	3,380,960	0.49	5,492,330	0.54	6,578,524	0.58	7,762,286	0.61	8,714,393	0.65	9,830,327	0.70
Tujia	Sino-Tibetan					284,900	0.03	5,725,049	0.51	8,028,133	0.63	8,353,912	0.63	9,587,732	0.68
Tibetans	Sino-Tibetan	2,775,622	0.48	2,501,174	0.36	3,821,950	0.38	4,593,072	0.41	5,416,021	0.43	6,282,187	0.47	7,060,731	0.50
Mongols	Mongolic	1,462,956	0.25	1,965,766	0.28	3,402,200	0.34	4,802,407	0.42	5,813,947	0.46	5,981,840	0.45	6,290,204	0.45
Buyei	Tai-Kadai	1,247,883	0.21	1,348,055	0.19	2,103,150	0.21	2,548,294	0.22	2,971,460	0.23	2,870,034	0.22	3,576,752	0.25
Dong	Tai-Kadai	712802		836123		1,446,190	0.14	2,508,624	0.22	2,960,293	0.24	2,879,974	0.22	3,495,993	0.25
Yao	Hmong-Mien	665933		857265		1,414,870	0.14	2,137,033	0.19	2,637,421	0.21	2,796,003	0.21	3,309,341	0.23
Bai	Sino-Tibetan	567119		706623		1,147,360	0.11	1,598,052	0.14	1,858,063	0.15	1,933,510	0.15	2,091,543	0.15
Hani	Sino-Tibetan	481220		628727		1,063,300	0.11	1,254,800	0.11	1,439,673	0.12	1,660,932	0.12	1,733,166	0.12
Korean	Koreanic	1,120,405	0.19	1,339,569	0.19	1,783,150	0.18	1,923,361	0.17	1,923,842	0.15	1,830,929	0.14	1,702,479	0.12
Li	Tai-Kadai	360950		438813		882,030	0.09	1,112,498	0.10	1,247,814	0.10	1,463,064	0.11	1,602,104	0.11
Kazakh	Turkic	509375		491637		878,570	0.09	1,110,758	0.10	1,250,458	0.10	1,462,588	0.11	1,562,518	0.11
Dai	Tai-Kadai	478966		535389		864,340	0.09	1,025,402	0.09	1,158,989	0.09	1,261,311	0.09	1,329,985	0.09
She	Hmong-Mien			234167		379,080	0.04	634,700	0.06	709,592	0.06	708,651	0.05
Lisu	Sino-Tibetan	317465		270628		466,760	0.05	574,589	0.05	634,912	0.05	702,839	0.05
Gelao	Tai-Kadai			26852		59,810	0.01	438,192	0.04	579,357	0.05	550,746	0.04
Dongxiang	Mongolic	155761		147443		279523	–	373,669	0.03	513,805	0.04	621,500	0.05
Gaoshan	Austronesian	329		366		1,750	0.00	2,877	0.00	4,461	0.00	4,009	0.00
Lahu	Sino-Tibetan	139060		191241		320,350	0.03	411,545	0.04	453,705	0.04	485,966	0.04
Sui	Tai-Kadai	133566		156099		300,690	0.03	347,116	0.03	406,902	0.03	411,847	0.03
Va	Mon-Khmer	286158		200272		271,050	0.03	351,980	0.03	396,610	0.03	429,709	0.03
Nakhi	Sino-Tibetan	143453		156796		248,650	0.02	277,750	0.02	308,839	0.02	326,295	0.02
Qiang	Sino-Tibetan	35660		49105		109,760	0.01	198,303	0.02	306,072	0.02	309,576	0.02
Tu	Mongolic	53277		77349		148,760	0.01	192,568	0.02	241,198	0.02	289,565	0.02
Mulao	Tai-Kadai			52819		91,790	0.01	160,648	0.01	207,352	0.02	216,257	0.02
Xibe	Tungusic	19022		33438		77,560	0.01	172,932	0.02	188,824	0.02	190,481	0.01
Kyrgyz	Turkic	70944		70151		108,790	0.01	143,537	0.01	160,823	0.01	186,708	0.01
Daur	Mongolic			63394		94126	–	121,463	0.01	132,143	0.01	131,992	0.01
Jingpo	Sino-Tibetan	101852		57762		100,180	0.01	119,276	0.01	132,143	0.01	147,828	0.01
Maonan	Tai-Kadai			22382		37,450	0.00	72,370	0.01	107,106	0.01	101,192	0.01
Salar	Turkic	30658		69135		68,030	0.01	82,398	0.01	104,503	0.01	130,607	0.01
Blang	Mon-Khmer			39411		58473	–	87,546	0.01	91,882	0.01	119,639	0.01
Tajik	Indo-European	14462		16236		27,430	0.00	33,223	0.00	41,028	0.00	51,069	0.00
Achang	Sino-Tibetan			12032		31,490	0.00	27,718	0.00	33,936	0.00	39,555	0.00
Pumi	Sino-Tibetan			14298		18,860	0.00	29,721	0.00	33,600	0.00	42,861	0.00
Ewenki	Tungusic	4957		9681		19,440	0.00	26,379	0.00	30,505	0.00	30,875	0.00
Nu	Sino-Tibetan			15047		25,980	0.00	27,190	0.00	28,759	0.00	37,523	0.00
Gin (Vietnamese)	Mon-Khmer					12,140	0.00	18,749	0.00	22,517	0.00	28,199	0.00
Jino	Sino-Tibetan					11,260	0.00	18,022	0.00	20,899	0.00	23,143	0.00
De'ang	Mon-Khmer					–	–	15,461	0.00	17,935	0.00	20,556	0.00
Bonan	Mongolic	4957		5125		6,620	0.00	11,683	0.00	16,505	0.00	20,074	0.00
Russian	Indo-European	22656		1326		2,830	0.00	13,500	0.00	15,609	0.00	15,393	0.00
Yugur	Turkic	3861		5717		7,670	0.00	12,293	0.00	13,719	0.00	14,378	0.00
Uzbek	Turkic	13626		7717		13,810	0.00	14,763	0.00	13,370	0.00	10,569	0.00
Monba	Sino-Tibetan			3809		1,040	0.00	7,498	0.00	8,923	0.00	10,561	0.00
Oroqen	Tungusic	2262		2709		2,280	0.00	7,004	0.00	8,196	0.00	8,659	0.00
Derung	Sino-Tibetan					4,250	0.00	5,825	0.00	7,426	0.00	6,930	0.00
Chinese Tatars	Turkic	6929		2294		7,510	0.00	5,064	0.00	4,890	0.00	3,556	0.00
Hezhen	Tungusic			718		670	0.00	4,254	0.00	4,640	0.00	5,354	0.00
Lhoba	Sino-Tibetan					1,030	0.00	2,322	0.00	2,965	0.00	3,682	0.00
Unrecognized						3,370,880	0.33	3,498	0.00	734,379	0.06	640,101	0.05
Unknown						4,720	0.00	752,347	0.07	–	–	–	–
Naturalized						–	–	–	–	941	0.00	1,448	0.00
Total China		582,603,417		694,581,759		1,008,175,288		1,133,682,501		1,242,612,226		1,332,810,869		1,411,778,724

Neither Hong Kong nor Macau recognizes the official ethnic classifications maintained by the central government. In Macau, the largest substantial ethnic groups of non-Chinese descent are the Macanese, of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent (Eurasians), as well as migrants from the Philippines and Thailand. Overseas Filipinos (overwhelmingly female) working as domestic workers comprise the largest non-Han Chinese ethnic group in Hong Kong.

People from other immigration jurisdictions

The 2020 Census counted 371,380 residents from Hong Kong, 55,732 residents from Macau, 157,886 residents from Taiwan, and 845,697 residents from other locations, totaling 1,430,695 residents.^[47][48]

Nationality	Residents
Myanmar	351,248
Vietnam	79,212
South Korea	59,242
United States	55,226
Japan	36,838
Canada	21,309
Australia	13,777
Russia	12,513
United Kingdom	11,236
Nigeria	10,654
Other countries	234,600
TOTAL	845,697

Religions

Main article: Religion in China

Further information: Religion in Hong Kong and Religion in Macau

Mapping of religions in China and Taiwan

 

Chinese ancestorism^{[49][note 2]}

 

Chinese salvationist religions, Confucian churches and jiaohua movements^{[note 4]}

 

Taoism^[56]

 

Buddhism^[57]

 

Christianity^[57]

 

Islam^[58]

Religions in each province, major city and autonomous region of China, according to the latest available data^{[note 5]}

Province	Chinese ancestorism^[49]	Buddhism^[57]	Christianity^[57]	Islam^[58]
Fujian	31.31%	40.40%	3.97%	0.32%
Zhejiang	23.02%	23.99%	3.89%	<0.2%
Guangxi	40.48%	10.23%	0.15%	<0.2%
Guangdong	43.71%	5.18%	0.68%	<0.2%
Yunnan	32.22%	13.06%	0.68%	1.52%
Guizhou	31.18%	1.86%	0.49%	0.48%
Jiangsu	16.67%	14.17%	2.67%	<0.2%
Jiangxi	24.05%	7.96%	0.66%	<0.2%
Shandong	25.28%	2.90%	1.54%	0.55%
Chongqing	26.63%	0.85%	0.28%	<0.2%
Hunan	20.19%	2.44%	0.49%	<0.2%
Shanxi	15.61%	3.65%	1.55%	<0.2%
Henan	7.94%	5.52%	4.95%	1.05%
Jilin	7.73%	8.23%	3.26%	<0.2%
Anhui	4.64%	7.83%	4.32%	0.58%
Gansu	3.51%	6.85%	0.28%	6.64%
Heilongjiang	7.73%	4.39%	3.63%	0.35%
Shaanxi	7.58%	6.35%	1.66%	0.4%
Liaoning	7.73%	5.31%	1.99%	0.64%
Sichuan	10.6%	2.06%	0.30%	<0.2%
Hubei	6.5%	2.09%	1.71%	<0.2%
Hebei	5.52%	1.59%	1.13%	0.82%
Hainan	–	–	0.48%^[49]	<0.2%
Beijing	–	11.2%^[60]	0.78%^[49]	1.76%
Shanghai	–	10.30%	1.88%	0.36%
Tianjin	–	–	0.43%	<0.2%
Tibet	–	~78%^[61]	–	0.39%
Xinjiang	–	–	1.0%^[49]	57.99%
Ningxia	–	–	1.17%^[49]	33.99%
Qinghai	–	–	0.76%^[49]	17.51%
Inner Mongolia	2.36%	12.1%^[62]	2.0%^[49]	0.91%
China	16%^[63]	15%^[64]^[65]	2.5%^[64]^[65]	2%^[59]^: 13

• v
• t
• e

Distribution of religious beliefs

Religions in five Chinese cities^[A], Yao X. 2005^[66] Religion or belief % Cults of gods and ancestors 23.8% Buddhism or worship of Buddha 23.1% Believe in fate and divination 38.5% Believe in feng shui 27.1% Believe in celestial powers 26.7% Are not members of religions 51.8% Are members of religions 5.3% Are convinced atheists 32.9%

Religions in China, CSLS 2010^[67] Religion Number % Cults of gods and ancestors 754 million 56.2%^[B] Buddhism 185 million 13.8% Buddhist initiates 17,3 million 1.3% Taoist folk religions 173 million 12.9% Taoists 12 million 0.9% Christianity 33 million 2.4% —Protestantism 30 million 2.2% —Catholicism 3 million 0.2% Islam 23 million 1.7%

Religions in China, Horizon^[68] Religion 2005 2006 2007 Buddhism 11% 16% 12% Taoism <1% <1% <1% Islam 1.2% 0.7% 2.9% Christianity 4% 1% 2% —Catholicism 2% <1% 1% —Protestantism 2% 1% 1% Other religion 0.3% 0.1% 0.1% None 77% 77% 81% Refused to answer 7% 5% 5%

Religions in China, CGSS^[69]^: 13 Religion 2006 2008 2010 2011 Average Buddhism 7.4% 7.0% 5.5% 5.0% 6.2% Taoism 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% Folk religious sects 2.7% 0.3% 2.9% 1.9% 2.2% Islam 1.2% 0.7% 2.9% 1.1% 1.7% Christianity 2.1% 2.2% 2.1% 2.6% 2.3% —Catholicism 0.3% 0.1% 0.2% 0.4% 0.3% —Protestantism 1.8% 2.1% 1.9% 2.2% 2.0% Other religion 0.3% 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 0.2% Traditional worship or "not religious" 86.1% 89.5% 86.3% 88.9% 87.2%

Demographic, political and socioeconomic characteristics of religious believers in six provinces,^[C] Yu Tao—CCAP^[D]—PU 2008^[70]

Religious community	% of population	% male	Average age in years	% agricultural households	% ethnic minority	% married	% Communist Party members	Average education in years	Annual family income in yuan
Traditional folk religion	31.09	64.8	46.46	96.4	1.1	94.6	9.8	5.94	29.772
Buddhism	10.85	54.4	49.44	95.8	0.0	92.1	9.8	5.88	38.911
Protestantism	3.54	47.7	49.66	89.2	4.6	96.9	4.6	5.83	24.168
Taoism	0.71	64.3	50.50	92.9	0.0	100	21.4	6.29	30.630
Catholicism	0.39	66.7	46.33	91.7	8.3	91.7	8.3	7.50	46.010
All religious	46.59	61.6	49.45	96.2	1.2	93.8	9.6	5.94	30.816
All non-religious	53.41	64.6	50.62	96.3	5.5	93.3	15.0	6.40	26.448

Religions by age group, CFPS 2012^[69]^: 17 Religion <30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60+ Buddhism 6.6% 7.9% 5.8% 6.0% 6.0% Taoism 0.3% 0.4% 0.2% 0.4% 0.4% Islam 0.3% 0.8% 0.5% 0.8% 0.4% Christianity 1.5% 1.2% 2.5% 2.3% 2.9% —Catholicism 0.3% 0.1% 0.6% 0.3% 0.3% —Protestantism 1.2% 1.1% 1.9% 2.0% 2.6% Other religion 0.2% 0.5% 0.7% 0.4% 0.7% Traditional worship or "not religious" 91.0% 89.1% 90.3% 90.2% 89.6%

Religious self-identification of university students in Beijing (2011)^[71]   Not religious or other (80.3%)   Buddhism (7%)   Confucianism (4%)   Christianity (3.9%)   Taoism (2.7%)   Islam (2.1%)

Religious self-identification of participants of the cultural nationalist movement in the mainland (2011)^[72]   Confucianism (59.6%)   Buddhism (26.3%)   Taoism (4.1%)   Christianity^[E] (0.6%)   Don't know (9.4%)

1. Beijing, Shanghai, Nantong, Wuhan, Baoding.
2. Although a lower 215 million, or 16% said they "believed in the existence" of ancestral spirits.
3. The populations surveyed were those of the provinces of Jiangsu, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Jilin, Hebei and Fujian.
4. Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy
5. Mostly Catholicism (0.6%), while nobody declared affiliation with Protestantism (0%).

Migration

Main articles: Migration in China and Chinese emigration

Internal migration in the People's Republic of China is one of the most extensive in the world according to the International Labour Organization.^[73] In fact, research done by Kam Wing Chan of the University of Washington suggests that "In the 30 years since 1979, China's urban population has grown by about 440 million to 622 million in 2009. Of the 440 million increase, about 340 million was attributable to net migration and urban reclassification. Even if only half of that increase was migration, the volume of rural-urban migration in such a short period is likely the largest in human history."^[74] Migrants in China are commonly members of a floating population, which refers primarily to migrants in China without local household registration status through the Chinese Hukou system.^[75] In general, rural-urban migrant workers are most excluded from local educational resources, citywide social welfare programs and many jobs because of their lack of hukou status.^[76]

In 2011 a total of 252.78 million migrant workers (an increase of 4.4% compared to 2010) existed in China. Out of these, migrant workers who left their hometown and worked in other provinces accounted for 158.63 million (an increase of 3.4% compared to 2010) and migrant workers who worked within their home provinces reached 94.15 million (an increase of 5.9% compared to 2010).^[77] Estimations are that Chinese cities will face an influx of another 243 million migrants by 2025, taking the urban population up to nearly 1 billion people.^[78] This population of migrants would represent "almost 40 percent of the total urban population," a number which is almost three times the current level.^[78][79] While it is often difficult to collect accurate statistical data on migrant floating populations, the number of migrants is undoubtedly quite large. "In China's largest cities, for instance, it is often quoted that at least one out of every five persons is a migrant."^[80] China's government influences the pattern of urbanization through the Hukou permanent residence registration system, land-sale policies, infrastructure investment and the incentives offered to local government officials. The other factors influencing migration of people from rural provincial areas to large cities are employment, education, business opportunities and higher standard of living.^[81]

The mass emigration known as the Chinese diaspora,^[82] which occurred from the 19th century to 1949, was mainly caused by wars and starvation in mainland China, invasion from various foreign countries, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption. Most immigrants were illiterate peasants and manual labourers, called "coolies" by analogy to the same pattern of immigration from India, who emigrated to work in countries such as the Americas, Australia, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

Urbanization

 

Urban construction work in Guangshui, 2013

Main article: Urbanization in China

Urbanization increased in speed following the initiation of the reform and opening policy. By the end of 2014, 54.7% of the total population lived in urban areas, a rate that rose from 26% in 1990.^[83]

Demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[84] No statistics have been included for areas currently governed by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Unless stated otherwise, statistics refer only to mainland China. (See Demographics of Hong Kong and Demographics of Macau.)

Population

• Mainland only: 1,409,670,000 (2023)
• Hong Kong: 7,276,588 (2015)
• Macau: 635,293 (2015)
• Total: 1,387,096,243 (2015).
• Population rank: 1 (See List of countries by population.)

Urban-rural ratio

• Urban: 61.4% (2020) 
• Rural: 38.6% (2020) 

Age structure

 

Age pyramid for China. Each box denotes a five-year age group,
starting with 0–5 years in the bottom box.
Effects of the one-child policy result in smaller age cohorts in recent years.

• 0–14 years: 17.29% (male 129,296,339/female 111,782,427)
• 15–24 years: 11.48% (male 86,129,841/female 73,876,148)
• 25–54 years: 46.81% (male 333,789,731/female 318,711,557)
• 55–64 years: 12.08% (male 84,827,645/female 83,557,507)
• 65 years and over: 12.34% (male 81,586,490/female 90,458,292) (2020 est.)
• 0–14 years: 16.48% (male 124,166,174/female 108,729,429)
• 15–64 years: 69.4% (male 504,637,819/female 476,146,909)
• 65 years and over: 14.11% (male 92,426,805/female 107,035,710) (2023 est.)^[2]

Median age

• total: 38.4 years Country comparison to the world: 62nd
• male: 37.5 years
• female: 39.4 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

• −0.15% (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 175th

Birth rate

• 6.39 births/1,000 population (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 169th

Death rate

• 7.87 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 77th

Net migration rate

• -0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 122nd

Population growth rate

• Population growth rate: −0.15% (2023)

Sex distribution

• Sex distribution: 1.06 males/females (2020)

Sex ratio

• At birth: 1.11 male(s)/female (2020)
• Under 15 years: 1.16 male(s)/female (2020)
• 15–24 years: 1.17 male(s)/female (2020)
• 25–54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female (2020)
• 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female (2020)
• Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2020)

Infant mortality rate

• Total: 11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est)
• Male: 11.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est)
• Female: 10.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est)

See Infant mortality in China

Urbanization

• urban population: 64.6% of total population (2023)
• rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data do not include Hong Kong and Macau

Life expectancy at birth

• Total population: 76.31 years (2021)
• Male: 74.23 years (2021)
• Female: 78.62 years (2021)

Religious affiliation

Main article: Religion in China

• Predominantly: Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism (via ancestral worship).
• Others: Christianity (3–4%), Islam (1.5%), ethnic minority religions, others.
• Note: State atheism, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic.

Sources:^{[85][86][87][88]}

See also

•  China portal

• Megalopolises in China
• Metropolitan cities of China
• Demographics of Central Asia
• Demographics of Beijing
• Population history of China
• Language Atlas of China

Notes

1. Part of Sichuan until 1997.
2. Chinese ancestral or lineage religion is the worship of kin's ancestor-gods in the system of lineage churches and ancestral shrines. It is worthwhile to note that this does not include other forms of Chinese religion, such as the worship of national ancestral gods or the gods of nature (which in northern China is more common than ancestor worship), and Taoism and Confucianism.
3. Historical record and contemporary scholarly fieldwork testify certain central and northern provinces of China as hotbeds of folk religious sects and Confucian religious groups.
4. The map represents the geographic diffusion of the tradition of folk religious movements of salvation, Confucian churches and jiaohua ("transformative teachings") movements, based on historical data and contemporary fieldwork. Due to incomplete data and ambiguous identity of many of these traditions the map may not be completely accurate. Sources include a World Religion Map from Harvard University, based on data from the World Religion Database, showing highly unprecise ranges of Chinese folk (salvationist) religions' membership by province. Another source, the studies of China's Regional Religious System, find "very high activity of popular religion and secret societies and low Buddhist presence in northern regions, while very high Buddhist presence in the southeast".^{[50] [note 3]}
   • Hebei: Fieldwork by Thomas David Dubois^[51] testifies the dominance of folk religious movements, specifically the Church of the Heaven and the Earth and the Church of the Highest Supreme, since their "energetic revival since the 1970s" (p. 13), in the religious life of the counties of Hebei. Religious life in rural Hebei is also characterised by a type of organisation called the benevolent churches and the salvationist movement known as Zailiism has returned active since the 1990s.
   • Henan: According to Heberer and Jakobi (2000)^[52] Henan has been for centuries a hub of folk religious sects (p. 7) that constitute significant focuses of the religious life of the province. Sects present in the region include the Baguadao or Tianli ("Order of Heaven") sect, the Dadaohui, the Tianxianmiaodao, the Yiguandao, and many others. Henan also has a strong popular Confucian orientation (p. 5).
   • Northeast China: According to official records by the then-government, the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue or Morality Society had 8 million members in Manchuria, or northeast China in the 1930s, making up about 25% of the total population of the area (note that the state of Manchuria also included the eastern end of modern-day Inner Mongolia).^[53] Folk religious movements of a Confucian nature, or Confucian churches, were in fact very successful in the northeast.
   • Shandong: The province is traditionally a stronghold of Confucianism and is the area of origin of many folk religious sects and Confucian churches of the modern period, including the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue, the Way of the Return to the One (皈依道 Guīyīdào), the Way of Unity (一貫道 Yīguàndào), and others. Alex Payette (2016) testifies the rapid growth of Confucian groups in the province in the 2010s.^[54]
   According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2012,^[55] about 2.2% of the total population of China (around 30 million people) claims membership in the folk religious sects, which have likely maintained their historical dominance in central-northern and northeastern China.
5. The statistics for Chinese ancestorism, that is the worship of ancestor-gods within the lineage system, are from the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey of 2010.^[49] The statistics for Buddhism and Christianity are from the China Family Panel Studies survey of 2012.^[57] The statistics for Islam are from a survey conducted in 2010.^[58] It is worthwhile to note that the populations of Chinese ancestorism and Buddhism may overlap, even with the large remaining parts of the population whose belief is not documented in the table. The latter, the uncharted population, may practise other forms of Chinese religion, such as the worship of gods, Taoism, Confucianism and folk salvationisms, or may be atheist. Indeed, according to the CFPS 2012, only 6.3% of the Chinese were irreligious in the sense of "atheism", while the rest practised the worship of gods and ancestors.^[59]: 13

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