Some key facts and figures about China’s population.
 | Shoppers crowd under colourful neon lights along Shanghai's bustling Nanjing Road (Photo: Reuters) |
KEY FIGURES Population (2005): 1.3 billion
Life expectancy: Men 70.9 years, Women 74.5 years
Population over 65: 8 percent
Population under 15: 20.1 percent
Annual Births (2005 estimate): 16.7 million
Annual Deaths (2005 estimate): 8.49 million
Population Growth (2005 estimate): 7.68 million, a rate of 0.58 percent
Estimated net migration rate: -0.39 migrants per 1,000 population
Urban population: 43 percent (18 percent in 1978)
 | Declining Birthrates (click on the image to enlarge graphic)See how the average number of children per woman decreased in China and other countries (Graphic: Allianz) |
10 FACTS ABOUT DEMOGRAPHICS IN CHINA
01. Over seventy percent of the Chinese population is of working age, aged between 15 and 64.
02. More than 100 cities in China have a population of at least one million, twice the number as in 1980.
03. Every year about 10 million Chinese migrate from the countryside to cities looking for work. One in four residents of Beijing is a migrant from the country.
04. 100-150 million Chinese are considered middle class, earning at least 10,000 dollars a year, owning their own apartment and car and taking vacations.
05. Chinese people are expected to own more cars than Americans by 2025.
06. By 2050, a third of China’s citizens will be over 60, three times the current proportion.
07. Nearly 30 percent of Chinese aged 0 to 30 are only children. Today there are about 90 million only children in total.
08. Among children aged 0 to 10 there are 121 boys for every 100 girls. The natural ratio is 105 boys to 100 girls.
09. 45 percent of Chinese women surveyed say they do not want to give up their careers to get married.
10. China supports 20 percent of the world’s population with just 7 percent of the world’s freshwater resources.
Sources: China Statistical Yearbook 2006, National Population and Family Planning Commission of China, China Daily, Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau, Women's Study Center at Peking University, CIA World Factbook 2008, UN Population Division, Library of Congress
editor: James Tulloch
publishing date: August 20, 2008
