BEIJING – China's population on the mainland reached 1.41178 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday, citing data from the seventh national population census.
The figure does not include populations in Hong Kong and Macao as well as Taiwan residents and foreigners who live in the mainland's 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, according to NBS.
The latest population figure increased 72.06 million, or 5.38 percent, compared with the 1.33972 billion recorded in the previous census conducted a decade ago.
This represents an average annual growth rate of 0.53 percent from 2010 to 2020. The rate was slightly lower than the average annual growth of 0.57 percent from 2000 to 2010.
Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, expects China's population to stay above 1.4 billion "for a certain period in the future," citing positive factors that will continue to support future growth
China's working-age population, or people aged between 16 and 59, stands at 880 million, according to Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS.
The average age of the Chinese population is 38.8, almost the same as in the United States, which is 38, he said.
"Data shows that China's population has continued to maintain slow growth in the past decade," Ning said.
He said the slight decrease in the annual growth rate was a result of mixed factors, including a continued drop in the number of women of childbearing age, couples delaying having children, and the rising cost of childbearing and parenting.
"This is an objective outcome of China's economic development, particularly as the country's industrialization and urbanization reaches a certain stage," he said, noting that it is a universal issue and particularly evident in developed countries.
But he expects China's population to stay above 1.4 billion "for a certain period in the future," citing positive factors that will continue to support future growth.
He attributed the basically steady growth over the past decade to China's large population base, which has ensured more than 10 million newborns every year, as well as a shift to the two-child policy that resulted in a rebound in the number of births.
Ning said the sustained increase in life expectancy also contributed to population growth. In China, the annual number of deaths has never surpassed the annual number of births, due to improvements in people's livelihoods and healthcare.
"China's population will peak in the future, but there remains uncertainty as to when specifically it will happen," Ning said.
Ning noted that population growth will be affected by such factors as age structure, people's views on having children, government population policies, the cost of childbearing and parenting, medical services and the health conditions of the people.
The number of Chinese aged 60 and above reached 264.02 million, or 18.70 percent of population, up 5.44 percentage points from 2010
"For the next stage, we should continue to pay attention to changes in population growth and respond actively to risks and challenges in demographic development," he said.
Population aging deepens
The number of Chinese aged 60 and above reached 264.02 million, or 18.70 percent of population, up 5.44 percentage points from 2010. Among these, 190.64 million were aged 65 or above, or 13.5 percent of the total population.
"Data shows the aging of the Chinese population has further deepened, and we will continue to face the pressure to achieve long-term balanced population development," Ning said.
According to the census, 63.35 percent of the country's population was aged 15-59, and the proportion of Chinese people aged 0-14 reached 17.95 percent, 1.35 percentage points higher than the 2010 level.
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Sex ratio heading to a more balanced direction
The latest population census shows that the sex ratio on the mainland has been heading toward a more balanced direction.
The number of males reached 723.34 million, accounting for 51.24 of the whole population, while the number of females reached 688.44 million, or 48.76 percent.
The male to female ratio stands at 105.07, which is a slight drop compared with that in 2010.
The sex ratio at birth is 111.3, falling 6.8 from that in the last census.
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Urban residents represent 63.89% of population
The number of people living in urban areas on the mainland totaled 901.99 million, representing 63.89 percent of the total, the NBS said.
The proportion of urban population was 14.21 percentage points higher than the figure for 2010 when the previous census was conducted, according to .
Rural population stood at 509.79 million, down by 164.36 million from the 2010 figure.
This photo captures tourists visiting the Hongyadong scenic area in Chongqing, May 2, 2021. (PHOTO / IC)
Around 850,000 foreigners living on mainland
A total of 845,697 foreigners are living on the mainland, the latest national census showed, compared with 593,832 a decade ago.
Among them, 402,026 are males, according to the data.
The foreigners are among about 1.43 million overseas residents in China by November, according to the data, which also include residents from Hong Kong (371,380), Macao (55,732) and Taiwan (157,886).
Around 600,000 of them have lived in China for more than five years, compared with about 40,000 whose stay is less than three months, according to the data.
More than 77,000 came to China for business, about 444,000 for employment, and about 219,000 for education. Around 420,000 came to settle down and 74,000 to pay visits to family members, according to the data.
The latest population census shows that more people are moving to developed regions and city clusters in the eastern region
The coastal province of Guangdong has the largest number of overseas residents at about 418,000, followed by Yunnan province (379,281), Shanghai (163,954), Fujian province (106,248) and Beijing (62,812).
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Population of ethnic groups rising faster than Han
The growth rate of population of ethnic groups excluding Han is significantly higher than that of Han ethnic group over the last decade, which shows that people from different ethnic groups have all benefitted from China’s all-round development, according to the latest national census.
People from Han ethnic group account for 91.1 percent of the total mainland population. Compared with the figures from the previous census in 2010, the growth rate of its population is about 4.9 percent while the growth rate of the population of people from other ethnic groups is about 10.3 percent, according to the data.
Furthermore, the proportion of people from ethnic groups excluding Han in the country's total population has grown 0.4 percentage points compared with the previous census.
China is home to 56 ethnic groups. The steady growth of the population of ethnic groups excluding Han has fully showcased the balanced development of people all ethnic groups, the latest census showed.
More Chinese moving to eastern region
The latest population census shows that more people are moving to developed regions and city clusters in the eastern region.
The number of people living in East China comprise of 39.93 percent of the total mainland population, 2.15 percentage points up compared with that of 2010, the census showed.
Meanwhile, those residing in the central region and western region of China take up 25.83 percent and 27.12 percent of the total, respectively, marking a 0.79 percentage point decline and a 0.22 percentage point growth compared with the figures a decade ago.
The proportion of residents in Northwest China fell by 1.2 percentage points during the same period of time.
China has conducted a national census every ten years since the 1990s.