2020 Chinese census explained

The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China, also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China.^[2] Census work began on November 1, 2020,^[3] and continued through December 10, 2020, involving seven million census workers.

The 2020 Chinese census covers all Chinese citizens living in mainland China, as well as those living abroad on temporary visas. Foreigners who live in the mainland for more than six months are also recorded in the data.^[4]

The preliminary results were released on May 11, 2021, with a news conference being held on the same day.^{[5] [6]} The release was originally planned to be in early April, but was delayed by a month.^[7]

Census result

The population of mainland China was 1,411,778,724^[8] as of 1 November 2020.^[9] In addition, Hong Kong's population was 7,474,200 (provided by the Hong Kong SAR Government at the end of 2020) and Macau's population was 683,218 (provided by the Macau SAR Government at the end of 2020).

Population comparison table by provincial-level administrative unit

Region	Resident population		Sex		Age				Education
	Population	Proportion (%)	Male (%)	Female (%)	0 to 14 (%)	15 to 59 (%)	60 and above (%)	65 and above (%)	College (%)	High school (%)	Middle school (%)	Elementary school (%)
Mainland China	1,411,778,724	100	51.24	48.76	17.95	63.35	18.70	13.50	15.47	15.09	34.51	24.77
Beijing	21,893,095	1.55	51.14	48.86	11.84	68.53	19.63	13.30	41.98	17.59	23.29	10.50
Tianjin	13,866,009	0.98	51.53	48.47	13.47	64.87	21.66	14.75	26.94	17.72	32.29	16.12
Hebei	74,610,235	5.28	50.50	49.50	20.22	59.92	19.85	13.92	12.42	13.86	39.95	24.66
Shanxi	34,915,616	2.47	50.99	49.01	16.35	64.72	18.92	12.90	17.36	16.49	38.95	19.51
Inner Mongolia	24,049,155	1.70	51.04	48.96	14.04	66.17	19.78	13.05	18.69	14.81	33.86	23.63
Liaoning	42,591,407	3.02	49.92	50.08	11.12	63.16	25.72	17.42	18.22	14.67	42.80	18.89
Jilin	24,073,453	1.71	49.92	50.08	11.71	65.23	23.06	17.42	16.74	17.08	38.23	22.32
Heilongjiang	31,850,088	2.26	50.09	49.91	10.32	66.46	23.22	15.61	14.79	15.53	42.79	21.86
Shanghai	24,870,895	1.76	51.77	48.23	9.80	66.82	23.38	16.28	33.87	19.02	28.94	11.93
Jiangsu	84,748,016	6.00	50.78	49.22	15.21	62.95	21.84	16.20	18.66	16.19	33.31	22.74
Zhejiang	64,567,588	4.57	52.16	47.84	13.45	67.86	18.70	13.27	16.99	14.56	32.71	26.38
Anhui	61,027,171	4.32	50.97	49.03	19.24	61.96	18.79	15.01	13.28	13.29	33.72	26.88
Fujian	41,540,086	2.94	51.68	48.32	19.32	64.70	15.98	11.10	14.15	14.21	32.22	28.03
Jiangxi	45,188,635	3.20	51.60	48.40	21.96	61.17	16.87	11.89	11.90	15.15	35.50	27.51
Shandong	101,527,453	7.19	50.66	49.34	18.78	60.32	20.90	15.13	14.38	14.33	35.78	23.69
Henan	99,365,519	7.04	50.15	49.85	23.14	58.79	18.08	13.49	11.74	15.24	37.52	24.56
Hubei	57,752,557	4.09	51.42	48.58	16.31	63.26	20.42	14.59	15.50	17.43	34.28	23.52
Hunan	66,444,864	4.71	51.16	48.84	19.52	60.60	19.88	14.81	12.24	17.78	35.64	25.21
Guangdong	126,012,510	8.93	53.07	46.93	18.85	68.80	12.35	8.58	15.70	18.22	35.48	20.68
Guangxi	50,126,804	3.55	51.70	48.30	23.63	59.69	16.69	12.20	10.81	12.96	36.39	27.86
Hainan	10,081,232	0.71	53.02	46.98	19.97	65.38	14.65	10.43	13.92	15.56	40.17	19.70
Chongqing	32,054,159	2.27	50.55	49.45	15.91	62.22	21.87	17.08	15.41	15.96	30.58	29.89
Sichuan	83,674,866	5.93	50.54	49.46	16.10	62.19	21.71	16.93	13.27	13.30	31.44	31.32
Guizhou	38,562,148	2.73	51.10	48.90	23.97	60.65	15.38	11.56	10.95	9.95	30.46	31.92
Yunnan	47,209,277	3.34	51.73	48.27	19.57	65.52	14.91	10.75	11.60	10.34	29.24	35.67
Tibet	3,648,100	0.26	52.45	47.55	24.53	66.95	8.52	5.67	11.02	7.05	15.76	32.11
Shaanxi	39,528,999	2.80	51.17	48.83	17.33	63.46	19.20	13.32	18.40	15.58	33.98	21.69
Gansu	25,019,831	1.77	50.76	49.24	19.40	63.57	17.03	12.58	14.51	12.94	27.42	29.81
Qinghai	5,923,957	0.42	51.21	48.79	20.81	67.04	12.14	8.68	14.88	10.57	24.34	32.73
Ningxia	7,202,654	0.51	50.94	49.06	20.38	66.09	13.52	9.62	17.34	13.43	29.72	26.11
Xinjiang	25,852,345	1.83	51.66	48.34	22.46	66.26	11.28	7.76	16.54	13.21	31.56	28.41

Immigrants

According to the census, China has 1,430,695 immigrants, dividing between 845,697 foreign nationals and 584,998 residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.^[10]

Background

In October 2015, China scrapped the one-child policy in the hope of boosting the number of births.^{[11] [12]} In 2016, China set a target of increasing its population to about 1.42 billion by 2020, from 1.34 billion in 2010.^[13]

After the relaxation of the one-child policy, 17.9 million babies were born in 2016, an increase of 1.3 million over the previous year, but only half of what was expected.^[14] In 2017, the birth rate fell to 17.2 million, far below the official forecast of more than 20 million. It is possible that the Chinese government will further relax its fertility policy in the future.^[15]

On November 2, 2020, Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping answered census workers' questions in Beijing.^[16]

The 2020 census showed that the gender ratio of mainland China has improved, with the male-to-female ratio reaching a new record low of 105.07.^[17] This is the most balanced gender ration since the People's Republic of China began conducting censuses in 1953.^[18]

Revisions

On April 27, 2021, the Financial Times reported that according to some sources who know the data of the seventh census, Chinese population in 2020 did not meet 1.4 billion.^[19] Chinese state media say that Chinese mainland population in 2019 was 1.40005 billion.^{[20] [21] [22]} If true, this would indicate the first population decline since the Great Leap Forward.^[23]

On April 28, 2021, Bloomberg News, quoting the Chinese state media outlet the Global Times, reported that it is unlikely there would be a drop in the total population in the 2020 census, citing a comment by Lu Jiehua, a professor at Peking University. Still, it was reported that China's population may peak in 2022, which is much earlier than previously estimated.^[24]

In May 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics of China released a report revising the data for the previous 10 years before the 2020 census. They announced that there were about 10 million more births between 2011 and 2019 than previously thought. That means there were actually more births before Beijing ended one-child policy in 2016.^[25]

See also

• Census in China

External links

• Web site: Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census . en. 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. National Bureau of Statistics of China. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511031334/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 1) . National Bureau of Statistics of China. en. 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104833/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817186.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 2) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104840/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817187.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 3) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104847/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817188.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 4) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104916/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817189.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 5) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104926/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817190.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 6) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104951/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817191.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 7) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104947/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817192.html . 2021-05-11.
• Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 8) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511105022/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817193.html . 2021-05-11.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 3) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104847/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817188.html . 2021-05-11.
2. Web site: China to launch 7th national population census on Nov 1. https://web.archive.org/web/20201116131740/http://english.www.gov.cn/statecouncil/ministries/202009/20/content_WS5f675f74c6d0f7257693c4fd.html. 16 November 2020. live. 20 September 2020. 16 November 2020. State Council of the People's Republic of China.
3. Web site: China prepares to count 1.3 billion people as date for new population census announced. https://web.archive.org/web/20200921053623/https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/20/asia/china-census-population-intl-hnk/index.html. 21 September 2020. live. James Griffiths. 20 September 2020. 16 November 2020. CNN.
4. Web site: Explainer What is China's 2020 census, and why is it important?. April 28, 2021. April 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428195753/https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3104873/chinas-population-census-what-it-and-why-it-important. live.
5. Web site: 国新办将举行第七次全国人口普查主要数据结果发布会. 2021-05-09. May 9, 2021. May 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210512032653/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2021-05/09/c_1127423961.htm. live.
6. Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 1) . National Bureau of Statistics of China. en. 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104833/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817186.html . 2021-05-11.
7. Web site: 国家统计局：第七次全国人口普查数据4月上旬公布. 2021-03-15. May 9, 2021. May 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210509032238/http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/202103/15/t20210315_36382092.shtml. live.
8. Web site: Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 2) . en. National Bureau of Statistics of China . 2021-05-11. 2021-05-11. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511104840/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817187.html . 2021-05-11.
9. Web site: China's census shows population growth slowed. . May 12, 2021. May 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210512032637/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/11/chinas-census-shows-population-growth-slowed.html. live.
10. Web site: Goodbye China: What Do Fewer Foreigners Mean for Multinationals and the Chinese Economy? . Intereconomics . 2022 . Frank . Bickenbach . Wan-Hsin . Liu .
11. Web site: China's census could point to a looming demographic slide. . April 28, 2021. April 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428193114/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-society-census-idUSKBN2BU0DI. live.
12. Web site: China's census expected to show population decline, spur debate on key policy issues. April 28, 2021. April 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428194138/https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3131460/chinas-census-expected-show-population-decline-spur-debate. live.
13. Web site: China demographic crisis looms as population growth slips to slowest ever . . 11 May 2021 . 11 May 2021 . May 12, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210512032621/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-2020-census-shows-slowest-population-growth-since-1-child-policy-2021-05-11/ . live .
14. News: Haas. Benjamin. Aug 28, 2018. China could scrap two-child policy, ending nearly 40 years of limits. en-GB. The Guardian. 2019-05-30. 0261-3077. April 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210429070012/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/28/china-could-scrap-two-child-policy-ending-nearly-40-years-of-limits. live.
15. News: Haas. Benjamin. Aug 28, 2018. China could scrap two-child policy, ending nearly 40 years of limits. en-GB. The Guardian. 2019-05-30. 0261-3077. April 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210429070012/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/28/china-could-scrap-two-child-policy-ending-nearly-40-years-of-limits. live.
16. Web site: President: Good census work serves high-quality growth. https://web.archive.org/web/20201103013000/https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202011/03/WS5f9ffb5da31024ad0ba829d8.html. 3 November 2020. live. 3 November 2020. 16 November 2020. China Daily. Mo Jingxi . Wang Xiaodong.
17. Web site: 2022-07-05 . China's latest census reports more balanced gender ratio - Xinhua English.news.cn . 2022-07-05 .
18. Web site: 2022-07-05 . China's latest census reports more balanced gender ratio - Xinhua English.news.cn . 2022-07-05 .
19. Web site: China seeks to douse speculation of shrinking population. . May 6, 2021. May 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506103937/https://www.reuters.com/world/india/chinas-population-continued-grow-2020-stats-bureau-2021-04-29/. live.
20. Web site: China's mainland population crosses 1.4 billion. 2020-01-17. The total population on the Chinese mainland surpassed 1.4 billion at the end of 2019, official data showed Friday. The total population on the mainland reached 1.40005 billion at the end of last year. May 9, 2021. May 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210509040358/https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/17/WS5e211902a310128217271a51.html. live.
21. Web site: 2019年末大陆总人口140005万 比上年末增加467万. 2020-01-17. May 9, 2021. February 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200202095605/http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/202001/17/t20200117_34146017.shtml. live.
22. Web site: China's population tops 1.4 billion. 2020-01-17. 2021-04-28. XINHUANET. dead. April 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428131150/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/17/c_138712953.htm.
23. Web site: 2021-04-27. China set to report first population decline in five decades. live. Financial Times. 28 April 2021. May 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210509194303/https://www.ft.com/content/008ea78a-8bc1-4954-b283-700608d3dc6c.
24. Web site: Hancock. Tom. April 28, 2021. China's Population May Peak Next Year, State Media Says. . April 29, 2021. Bloomberg News. April 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210429051005/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-29/china-s-population-may-peak-next-year-state-media-says. live.
25. Web site: Kawate . Iori . June 3, 2021 . China revises upward population data for past 10 years: Sampling errors led to underestimates in number of births, authorities say . 2022-08-16 . Nikkei Asia.