
| -People- |
Population
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Population pyramid for China
Fig 1Population: 1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 22.3%
(male 153.4 million; female 135.8 million)
15-64 years: 70.3%
(male 469.3 million; female 443.3 million)
65 years and over: 7.5%
(male 46.3 million; female 50.8 million)
(2005 est.)Median age:
total: 31.8 years
male: 31.5 years
female: 32.2 years (2004 est.)Population growth rate:
Overall: 0.57%
Birth rate: 12.98 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 6.92 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2004 est.)Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.96 years
male: 70.4 years
female: 73.72 years (2004 est.)Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.)
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Demographics of China; number of inhabitants in thousands (2005)
Fig 2With a population of over 1.3 billion and an estimated growth rate of 0.57%, the PRC is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict family planning policy. The government's goal is one child per family, with exceptions in rural areas and for ethnic minorities. Official stated government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization, but allegations of coercion continue as local officials strive to meet population targets. The government's goal is to stabilize the population and population growth early in the 21st century, although some current projections estimate a population of anywhere ranging from 1.4 billion to 1.6 billion by 2025.
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Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China
Fig 3noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: ChineseThe People's Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.9% of the total population. Large ethnic minorities include the Zhuang (16 million), Manchu (10 million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million), Uighur (7 million), Yi (7 million), Tujia (5.75 million), Mongolian (5 million), Tibetan (5 million), Buyi (3 million), and Korean (2 million).
According to official reports, the definition of literacy is anyone age 15 and over who can read and write 1500 characters or more.
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2002)Other studies indicate the official numbers are inflated and otherwise inaccurate and report a 50% literacy rate.
The Chinese world or Chinese cultural world is an expression used for a group of East Asian countries/ dependencies/ territories and the well established overseas Chinese communities across the world (Chinese diaspora) linked to mainland China because they are widely influenced by the Chinese culture.
The Chinese world is considered to be made up of:
- Mainland China- population of 1.3 billion
- Taiwan- population of 23 million
- Hong Kong- population of 7 million
- Singapore- population of 4 million
- Macau- population of 451,000
- Overseas Chinese- population of 35- 40 million (est.)
Using these estimates, the Chinese world population totals 1,369,451,000- 1,374,451,000 (1.369- 1.374 billion), or about 20% of the entire world's population.
The Chinese world as a cultural notion, is shown to have strongly influenced some foreign cultures, such as Japanese (population of 120 million), Korean (combined population of 70 million), Vietnamese (population of 80 million), and Mongolian (population of 2.5 million). Using these figures, combined with those above, it can be said that the Chinese cultural world consists of between 1,641,951,000 and 1,646,951,000 (1.642- 1.647 billion) people worldwide.
Size and Distribution of Minority Nationalities in China
Minority Nationality Approximate Population Major Areas of Distribution Zhuang 13,400,000 Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region; Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou provinces Hui 7,200,000 Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region; Gansu, Henan, Qinghai, Yunnan, Hebei, Shandong provinces; Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Uygur 6,000,000 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region; Hunan Province Yi 5,500,000 Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou provinces; Guangxi- Zhuang Autonomous Region Miao 5,000,000 Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan provinces; Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region Manchu 4,300,000 Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Hebei provinces; Nei Monggol Autonomous Region; Beijing Municipality Zang (Tibetan) 3,800,000 Xizang Autonomous Region; Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu provinces Monggol 3,400,000 Nei Menggu Autonomous Region; Liaoning Province; Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Tujia 2,800,000 Hubei, Hunan, and Sichuan province Bouyei 2,100,000 Guizhou Province Korean 1,800,000 Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning provinces Dong 1,400,000 Guizhou, Hunan provinces; Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region Yao 1,400,000 Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region; Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong provinces Bai 1,100,000 Yunnan Province Hani 1,100,000 N/A Kazak 900,000 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Li 890,000 Guangdong, Guizhou provinces Dai 840,000 Yunnan Province Lisu 480,000 N/A She 370,000 Fujian, Zhejiang provinces Lahu 300,000 Yunnan Province Va 300,000 N/A Shui 290,000 Guizhou Province Dongxiang 280,000 Gansu Province, Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Naxi 250,000 Yunnan Province Tu 160,000 Qinghai Province Kirgiz 114,000 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Qiang 100,000 Sichuan Province Daur 95,000 Nei Menggu Autonomous Region; Heilongjiang Province Jingpo 93,000 Yunnan Province Mulao 90,000 Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region Xibe 84,000 Liaoning Province; Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Salar 69,000 Qinghai, Gansu provinces Bulang 58,000 Yunnan Province Gelao 54,000 Guizhou Province Maonan 38,000 Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region Tajik 27,000 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Pumi 24,000 Yunnan Province Nu 23,000 N/A Achang 20,000 N/A Ewenki 19,000 Nei Menggu Autonomous Region; Heilongjiang Province Jing 13,000 Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region; Guizhou, Guangdong provinces Benglong 12,000 Yunnan Province Uzbek 12,000 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Jinuo 12,000 Yunnan Province Yugur 11,000 Gansu Province Baoan 9,000 N/A Drung 4,600 Yunnan Province Tartar 4,100 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Oroqen 4,100 Nei Menggu Autonomous Region; Heilongjiang Province Russian 2,900 Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region Gaoshan 1,700 Fujian, Guizhou provinces Hezhe 1,500 Heilongjiang Province Moinha 1,140 Xizang Autonomous Region Lhoba 1,100 N/A Other 800,000 Guizhou, Yunnan province
Harry Harding (1993). "The Concept of 'Greater China': Themes, Variations, and Reservations", in The China Quarterly, 1993, pp.660-686.
Data: FAOSTAT
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