Editing Demographics of China (section)

===Censuses in China===
{{Main|Census in China}}
The People's Republic of China conducted censuses in [[1953 Chinese census|1953]], [[1964 Chinese census|1964]], [[1982 Chinese census|1982]], [[1990 Chinese census|1990]], [[2000 Chinese census|2000]], [[2010 Chinese census|2010]], and [[2020 Chinese census|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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Xiaogang |first=He |title=The Evolution of Population Census Undertakings in China, 1953–2010 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282944015 |journal=China Review |volume=15 |pages=171–206 |access-date=3 March 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603023129/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282944015_The_Evolution_of_Population_Census_Undertakings_in_China_1953-2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Joan |date=March 2011 |title=China Case Study on UNFPA |url=https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/archive/doc/China-Case-Study.pdf |url-status=live |website=Center for Global Development |page=19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226013926/https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/archive/doc/China-Case-Study.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2020}}</ref>

China was the world's most populous nation until being surpassed by India in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The U.S. Census Bureau - China |url=https://www.census.gov/popclock/world/ch |url-status=live |access-date=2021-04-21 |website=www.census.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905192451/http://www.census.gov/popclock/world/ch |archive-date=5 September 2015}}</ref>

By the seventh 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Jane Lanhee |date=3 December 2021 |title=Researcher questions China's population data, says it may be lower |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/researcher-questions-chinas-population-data-says-it-may-be-lower-2021-12-03/ |access-date=25 July 2022 |archive-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713094103/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/researcher-questions-chinas-population-data-says-it-may-be-lower-2021-12-03/ |url-status=live}}</ref>