Editing Demographics of China

{{Short description|none}}
{{About|the demographics of the People's Republic of China|the demographics of the Republic of China (Taiwan)|Demographics of Taiwan}}
<!-- "none" is a legitimate description when the title is already adequate; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}

{{Infobox place demographics
|place              = [[China]]
|image              = File:China population sex by age on Nov, 1st, 2020.png 
|image_size         = 350 
|caption            = [[Population pyramid]] of [[China]] in November 2020 
|size_of_population = {{decrease}} 1,408,280,000 (31 December 2024)<ref>{{cite web |title=National Economy – 10.Total Population Went down and Urbanization Rate Continued to Grow (31 December 2024) |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202501/t20250117_1958330.html |publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]] (NBSC) |website=www.stats.gov.cn |date=17 January 2025 |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref>
|growth             = {{decrease}} −0.15% (2023 est.) ([[List of countries by population growth rate|159th]])
|birth              = {{increase}} 6.77 births per 1,000 (2024 est.) <ref>{{cite web | url=https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/statistics/202501/17/content_WS6789ecb8c6d0868f4e8eee5b.html?form=MG0AV3 | title=China's newborns rise in 2024, first time in years }}</ref>
|death              = 7.87 deaths per 1,000 (2023 est.)
|life               = {{increase}} 78.6 years (2022)
|life_male          = {{increase}} 76.0 years (2022)
|life_female        = {{increase}} 81.3 years (2022)
|infant_mortality   = 6.76 deaths per 1000 live births (2022)<ref>{{cite web |title=Country Comparisons - Infant mortality rate |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/infant-mortality-rate/country-comparison |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date=5 May 2022 |access-date=5 May 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306110845/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/infant-mortality-rate/country-comparison |url-status=live}}</ref>
|fertility          = {{increase}} 1.20 children per woman (2024 est.)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard | title=World Population Dashboard | work=United Nations Population Fund }}</ref>
|age_0-14_years     = 16.48% (male 124,166,174/female 108,729,429)
|age_15-64_years    = 69.4% (male 504,637,819/female 476,146,909)
|age_65_years       = 14.11% (male 92,426,805/female 107,035,710) (2023 est.)<ref name="China">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china |title=China |date=2 August 2023 |access-date=24 January 2021 |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812121502/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|sr_total_mf_ratio  = 1.06 male to female (2020 est.)
|sr_at_birth        = 1.11 male to female (2020 est.)
|sr_0-14_years      = 1.16 male to female (2020 est.)
|sr_15-24_years     = 1.17 male to female (2020 est.)
|sr_25-54_years     = 1.05 male to female (2020 est.)
|sr_55-64_years     = 1.02 male to female (2020 est.)
|sr_65_years_over   = 0.90 male to female (2020 est.)
|major_ethnic       = {{decreaseNeutral}} [[Han Chinese]] (91.11%)<ref name="stats.gov.cn">{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html |title=Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census |website=Stats.gov.cn |access-date=25 July 2021 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511031334/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|minor_ethnic       = {{unbulleted list
|{{Tree list}}
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] (1.39%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Uyghurs]] (0.84%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Hui people|Hui]] (0.81%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Miao people|Miao]] (0.79%)
* {{decreaseNeutral}} [[Manchu people|Manchus]] (0.74%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Yi people|Yi]] (0.70%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Tujia people|Tujia]] (0.68%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Tibetans]] (0.50%)
* {{steady}} [[Mongols]] (0.45%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} [[Bouyei people|Bouyei]] (0.25%)
* {{increaseNeutral}} Other groups (1.74%)
{{tree list/end}}
}}
|official           = [[Standard Chinese]]
|spoken             = Various; See ''[[Languages of China]]''
}}

The [[People's Republic of China]] is the second [[List of countries by population (United Nations)|most-populous country in the world]] with a population exceeding 1.4&nbsp;billion, only surpassed by [[India]]. Historically, China has always been one of the nation-states with the most population.

China has an enormous population with a relatively small youth component, partially a result of China's [[one-child policy]] that was implemented from 1979 until 2015, which limited urban families to one offspring and rural families to two. {{As of|2022}}, Chinese [[state media]] reported the country's [[total fertility rate]] to be 1.09.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2023-08-15 |title=China's fertility rate drops to record low 1.09 in 2022- state media |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-fertility-rate-drops-record-low-109-2022-state-media-2023-08-15/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920010637/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-fertility-rate-drops-record-low-109-2022-state-media-2023-08-15/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

China was the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by population|most populous country]] from at least 1950<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mackintosh |first=Manveena Suri,Diksha Madhok,Eliza |date=2023-04-19 |title=India will surpass China as world's most populous country by mid-year, UN says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/asia/india-china-population-intl/index.html |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202080149/https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/asia/india-china-population-intl/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> until being surpassed by [[India]] in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65322706 |work=BBC News |date=1 May 2023 |access-date=6 May 2023 |archive-date=9 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809123453/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65322706 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=24 April 2023 |title=India to overtake China as world's most populous country in April 2023, United Nations projects |url=https://www.un.org/en/desa/india-overtake-china-world-most-populous-country-april-2023-united-nations-projects#:~:text=Smith%20Mehta%2Funsplash.-,India%20to%20overtake%20China%20as%20world's%20most%20populous%20country%20in,the%20world's%20most%20populous%20country |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=[[United Nations]] |archive-date=5 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905025340/https://www.un.org/en/desa/india-overtake-china-world-most-populous-country-april-2023-united-nations-projects#:~:text=Smith%20Mehta%2Funsplash.-,India%20to%20overtake%20China%20as%20world's%20most%20populous%20country%20in,the%20world's%20most%20populous%20country |url-status=live}}</ref>

By one estimate, in 2024 China's population stood at about 1.408 billion, down from the 1.412 billion recorded in the 2020 census.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Master |first=Farah |date=January 17, 2024 |title=China's population drops for 2nd year, raises long-term growth concerns |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-population-drops-2nd-year-raises-long-term-growth-concerns-2024-01-17/ |access-date=January 17, 2024 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> According to the [[2020 Chinese census|2020 census]], 91.11% of the population was [[Han Chinese]], and 8.89% were [[Ethnic minorities in China|minorities]]. China's population growth rate is -0.10%.<ref>{{Cite news |title=China's population falls for a third consecutive year |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-population-falls-third-consecutive-year-2025-01-17/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222070021/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-population-falls-third-consecutive-year-2025-01-17/ |archive-date=22 February 2025 |access-date=2025-04-02 |work=Reuters |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Data |url=https://data.stats.gov.cn/english/easyquery.htm?cn=C01 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=data.stats.gov.cn}}</ref> China conducted its [[2010 Chinese census|sixth national population census]] in 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_593141.html |title=Tough road ahead for China census |website=Straitstimes.com |access-date=14 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023083956/http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_593141.html |archive-date=23 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110428_402722244.htm |title=Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census (No. 1) |publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China |date=28 April 2011 |access-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108022004/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110428_402722244.htm |archive-date=8 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and its [[2020 Chinese census|seventh census]] was completed in late 2020, with data released in May 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/china-census-births-fall.html |title=China's 'Long-Term Time Bomb': Falling Births Drive Slow Population Growth |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=11 May 2021 |last=Wee |first=Sui-Lee |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511031504/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/china-census-births-fall.html |archive-date=11 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

China faces the challenge of an aging population due to increased life expectancy and declining birth rates.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Alexandra |last2=Wang |first2=Zixu |date=2025-01-17 |title=China’s Population Declines for 3rd Straight Year |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/business/china-population-births-deaths.html |access-date=2025-01-18 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This demographic shift has implications for social services and the labor force.<ref name=":1" />

==Population==
===Historical population===
{{Main|Population history of China}}
[[File:China population growth.svg|thumbnail|upright=1.36|Historical population in China from 400 BC<ref name=Banister/>]]
[[File:Historical population of India and China.svg|thumb|upright=1.36|Historical population of India and China since 1100 with projection to 2100]]
During 1960–2015, the population grew to nearly 1.4 billion. Under [[Mao Zedong]], China nearly doubled in population from 540 million in 1949 to 969 million in 1979. This growth slowed because of the one-child policy instituted in 1979.<ref name="Banister">{{cite book |pages=51–57 |title=A Brief History of China's Population, The Population of Modern China |first=Judith |last=Banister |isbn=978-0-306-44138-7 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-1231-2_3 |chapter=A Brief History of China's Population |year=1992 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/populationofmode0000unse/page/51}}</ref> The 2022 data shows a declining population for the first time since 1961.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=Kelly |title=China's population falls for first time since 1961 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64300190 |access-date=17 January 2023 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=17 January 2023 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117043939/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64300190 |url-status=live}}</ref>

China's population reached 1 billion in 1982, making it the first country to reach this milestone.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weisskopf |first=Michael |date=1982-10-28 |title=China's Population Passes 1 Billion in Latest Census |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/10/28/chinas-population-passes-1-billion-in-latest-census/f3b0e967-6dbd-4ca0-9f63-e125e980e0ab/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603023252/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/10/28/chinas-population-passes-1-billion-in-latest-census/f3b0e967-6dbd-4ca0-9f63-e125e980e0ab/ |archive-date=3 June 2024 |access-date=2023-05-14 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

===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>

===Population density and distribution===
[[File:China Population Density, 2000 (6171905307).jpg|thumb|upright=1.81|Population density in the year 2000]]
[[File:Topographic map of East Central China.jpg|thumb|upright=1.81|General topographic map of the most populous part of China, as per 2024 (Click to enlarge)]]
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2019}}
China is the second most populous country in the world and its national population density (137/km<sup>2</sup>) is very similar to [[List of countries by population density|those]] of countries like [[Denmark]] (excluding Greenland) or the [[Czech Republic]]. However, the overall population density of China conceals major regional variations. In 2002, about 94% of the population lived east of the [[Heihe–Tengchong Line]]; although this eastern area comprises only 43% of China's total land area, its population density, at roughly 280/km<sup>2</sup>, is comparable to that of Japan.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Broadly speaking, the population was concentrated east of the [[Tibetan Plateau]] and south of the [[Mongolian–Manchurian grassland|northern steppe]]. The most densely populated areas included the [[Yangtze River Valley]] (of which the delta region was the most populous), [[Sichuan Basin]], [[North China Plain]], [[Pearl River Delta]], and the industrial area around the city of [[Shenyang]] in the northeast.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Population is most sparse in the mountainous, desert, and grassland regions of the northwest and southwest. In [[Inner Mongolia]] Autonomous Region, portions are completely uninhabited, and only a few sections have populations denser than ten people per km<sup>2</sup>. The [[Inner Mongolia]], Xinjiang, and [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]] autonomous regions and [[Qinghai]] and [[Gansu]] comprise 55% of the country's land area but in 1985 contained only 5.7% of its population.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:top; float:right"
|-
! colspan="2"|  || Area (km<sup>2</sup>) || Population  || Density
|-
! colspan="2"| China || 9,650,000 (100%) || 1,411,778,724 (100%) || 134.7/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| colspan="2"| '''5 provinces'''|| 5,246,400 (54.45%) || 84,493,388 (5.98%) || 15.16/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| rowspan="5"| || [[Inner Mongolia]] || 1,183,000 (12.28% ) || 24,049,155 (1.70%) || 20.33/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| [[Xinjiang]] || 1,660,000 (17.23%) || 25,852,345 (1.83%) || 12.62/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]] || 1,228,400 (12.75%) || 3,648,100 (0.26%) || 2.31/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| [[Qinghai]] || 721,000 (7.48%) || 5,923,957 (0.42%) || 7.65/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| [[Gansu]] || 454,000 (4.71%) || 25,019,831 (1.77%) || 57.65/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| colspan="2"| '''Other provinces''' || 4,403,605 (45.55%) || 1,327,285,336 (94.02%) || 277.27/km<sup>2</sup>
|-
| colspan="5"| <small>Source: National Bureau of Statistics</small>
|}
{{clear}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Population of China by province 1953–2020<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/rkpcgb/ |title=中华人民共和国国家统计局 >> 人口普查公报 |website=Stats.gov.cn |access-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227023535/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/rkpcgb/ |archive-date=27 December 2013}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817188.html |title=Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 3) |website=stats.gov.cn |access-date=10 August 2021 |archive-date=1 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001130717/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817188.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! rowspan="2" | Province or<br />autonomous region
! colspan="2" | Census 1953
! colspan="2" | Census 1964
! colspan="2" | Census 1982
! colspan="2" | Census 1990
! colspan="2" | Census 2000
! colspan="2" | Census 2010
! colspan="2" | Census 2020
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! number
! %
! number
! %
! number
! %
! number
! %
! number
! %
! number
! %
! number
! %
|-
| Beijing Municipality
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,768,149
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.48
| style="text-align:right;"| 8,568,495
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.23
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,230,687
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.92
| style="text-align:right;"| 11,819,407
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.95
| style="text-align:right;"| 13,820,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.09
| style="text-align:right;"| 19,612,368
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.46
| style="text-align:right;"| 21,893,095
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.55
|-
| [[Hebei]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 35,984,644
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.18
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 49,687,781
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 6.58
| style="text-align:right;"| 53,005,876
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.26
| style="text-align:right;"| 61,082,439
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.39
| style="text-align:right;"| 67,440,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.33
| style="text-align:right;"| 79,854,202
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.36
| style="text-align:right;"| 74,610,235
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.28
|-
| [[Tianjin]] Municipality
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,693,831
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.46
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,764,141
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.77
| style="text-align:right;"| 8,785,402
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.77
| style="text-align:right;"| 10,010,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.79
| style="text-align:right;"| 12,938,224
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.97
| style="text-align:right;"| 13,866,009
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.98
|-
| [[Shanxi]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 14,314,485
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.46
| style="text-align:right;"| 18,015,067
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.59
| style="text-align:right;"| 25,291,389
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.51
| style="text-align:right;"| 28,759,014
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.54
| style="text-align:right;"| 32,970,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.60
| style="text-align:right;"| 35,712,111
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.67
| style="text-align:right;"| 34,915,616
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.47
|-
| [[Inner Mongolia]] Autonomous Region
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,100,104
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.05
| style="text-align:right;"| 12,348,638
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.78
| style="text-align:right;"| 19,274,279
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.91
| style="text-align:right;"| 21,456,798
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.89
| style="text-align:right;"| 23,760,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.88
| style="text-align:right;"| 24,706,321
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.84
| style="text-align:right;"| 24,049,155
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.70
|-
| [[Rehe Province|Rehe]] ''(now defunct)''
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,160,822
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.89
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
|-
| [[Liaoning]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 18,545,147
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.18
| style="text-align:right;"| 26,946,200
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.88
| style="text-align:right;"| 35,721,693
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.54
| style="text-align:right;"| 39,459,697
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.48
| style="text-align:right;"| 42,380,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.35
| style="text-align:right;"| 43,746,323
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.27
| style="text-align:right;"| 42,591,407
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.02
|-
| [[Jilin]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 11,290,073
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.94
| style="text-align:right;"| 15,668,663
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.26
| style="text-align:right;"| 22,560,053
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.24
| style="text-align:right;"| 24,658,721
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.18
| style="text-align:right;"| 27,280,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.16
| style="text-align:right;"| 27,462,297
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.05
| style="text-align:right;"| 24,073,453
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.71
|-
| [[Heilongjiang]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 11,897,309
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.04
| style="text-align:right;"| 20,118,271
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.90
| style="text-align:right;"| 32,665,546
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.24
| style="text-align:right;"| 35,214,873
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.11
| style="text-align:right;"| 39,890,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.91
| style="text-align:right;"| 38,312,224
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.86
| style="text-align:right;"| 31,850,088
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.26
|-
| Shanghai Municipality
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,204,417
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.06
| style="text-align:right;"| 10,816,458
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.56
| style="text-align:right;"| 11,859,748
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.18
| style="text-align:right;"| 13,341,896
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.18
| style="text-align:right;"| 16,740,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.32
| style="text-align:right;"| 23,019,148
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.72
| style="text-align:right;"| 24,870,895
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.76
|-
| [[Jiangsu]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 41,252,192
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.08
| style="text-align:right;"| 44,504,608
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.41
| style="text-align:right;"| 60,521,114
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.00
| style="text-align:right;"| 67,056,519
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.91
| style="text-align:right;"| 74,380,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.88
| style="text-align:right;"| 77,659,903
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.87
| style="text-align:right;"| 84,748,016
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.00
|-
| [[Zhejiang]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 22,865,747
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.92
| style="text-align:right;"| 28,318,573
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.08
| style="text-align:right;"| 38,884,603
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.86
| style="text-align:right;"| 41,445,930
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.66
| style="text-align:right;"| 46,770,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.69
| style="text-align:right;"| 54,426,891
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.06
| style="text-align:right;"| 64,567,588
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.57
|-
| [[Anhui]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 30,343,637
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.21
| style="text-align:right;"| 31,241,657
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.50
| style="text-align:right;"| 49,665,724
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.93
| style="text-align:right;"| 56,180,813
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.96
| style="text-align:right;"| 59,860,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.73
| style="text-align:right;"| 59,500,510
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.44
| style="text-align:right;"| 61,027,171
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.32
|-
| [[Fujian]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 13,142,721
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.26
| style="text-align:right;"| 16,757,223
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.41
| style="text-align:right;"| 25,931,106
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.57
| style="text-align:right;"| 30,097,274
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.65
| style="text-align:right;"| 34,710,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.74
| style="text-align:right;"| 36,894,216
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.75
| style="text-align:right;"| 41,540,086
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.94
|-
| [[Jiangxi]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 16,772,865
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.88
| style="text-align:right;"| 21,068,019
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.03
| style="text-align:right;"| 33,184,827
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.29
| style="text-align:right;"| 37,710,281
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.33
| style="text-align:right;"| 41,400,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.27
| style="text-align:right;"| 44,567,475
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.33
| style="text-align:right;"| 45,188,635
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.20
|-
| [[Shandong]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 48,876,548
| style="text-align:right;"| 8.39
| style="text-align:right;"| 55,519,038
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.99
| style="text-align:right;"| 74,419,054
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.38
| style="text-align:right;"| 84,392,827
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.44
| style="text-align:right;"| 90,790,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.17
| style="text-align:right;"| 95,793,065
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.15
| style="text-align:right;"| 101,527,453
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.19
|-
| [[Henan]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 44,214,594
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.59
| style="text-align:right;"| 50,325,511
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.25
| style="text-align:right;"| 74,422,739
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.38
| style="text-align:right;"| 85,509,535
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.54
| style="text-align:right;"| 92,560,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.31
| style="text-align:right;"| 94,023,567
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.02
| style="text-align:right;"| 99,365,519
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.04
|-
| [[Hubei]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 27,789,693
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.77
| style="text-align:right;"| 33,709,344
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.85
| style="text-align:right;"| 47,804,150
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.74
| style="text-align:right;"| 53,969,210
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.76
| style="text-align:right;"| 60,280,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.76
| style="text-align:right;"| 57,237,740
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.27
| style="text-align:right;"| 57,752,557
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.09
|-
| [[Hunan]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 33,226,954
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.70
| style="text-align:right;"| 37,182,286
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.35
| style="text-align:right;"| 54,008,851
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.36
| style="text-align:right;"| 60,659,754
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.35
| style="text-align:right;"| 64,440,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.09
| style="text-align:right;"| 65,683,722
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.90
| style="text-align:right;"| 66,444,864
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.71
|-
| [[Guangdong]]
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 34,770,059
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 5.97
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 42,800,849
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 6.16
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 59,299,220
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 5.88
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 62,829,236
| style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2"| 5.54
| style="text-align:right;"| 86,420,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.83
| style="text-align:right;"| 104,303,132
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.79
| style="text-align:right;"| 126,012,510
| style="text-align:right;"| 8.93
|-
| [[Hainan]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,870,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.62
| style="text-align:right;"| 8,671,518
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.65
| style="text-align:right;"| 10,081,232
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.71
|-
| [[Guangxi]] Zhuang Autonomous Region
| style="text-align:right;"| 19,560,822
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.36
| style="text-align:right;"| 20,845,017
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.00
| style="text-align:right;"| 36,420,960
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.61
| style="text-align:right;"| 42,245,765
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.73
| style="text-align:right;"| 44,890,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.55
| style="text-align:right;"| 46,026,629
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.55
| style="text-align:right;"| 50,126,804
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.55
|-
| [[Sichuan]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 62,303,999
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.69
| style="text-align:right;"| 67,956,490
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.78
| style="text-align:right;"| 99,713,310
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.89
| style="text-align:right;"| 107,218,173
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.46
| style="text-align:right;"| 83,290,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.58
| style="text-align:right;"| 80,418,200
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.00
| style="text-align:right;"| 83,674,866
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.93
|-
| [[Chongqing]] Municipality{{NoteTag|Part of Sichuan until 1997.}}
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 30,900,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.44
| style="text-align:right;"| 28,846,170
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.15
| style="text-align:right;"| 32,054,159
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.27
|-
| [[Guizhou]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 15,037,310
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.58
| style="text-align:right;"| 17,140,521
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.47
| style="text-align:right;"| 28,552,997
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.83
| style="text-align:right;"| 32,391,066
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.86
| style="text-align:right;"| 35,250,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.78
| style="text-align:right;"| 34,746,468
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.59
| style="text-align:right;"| 38,562,148
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.73
|-
| [[Yunnan]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 17,472,737
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.00
| style="text-align:right;"| 20,509,525
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.95
| style="text-align:right;"| 32,553,817
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.23
| style="text-align:right;"| 36,972,610
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.26
| style="text-align:right;"| 42,880,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.39
| style="text-align:right;"| 45,966,239
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.43
| style="text-align:right;"| 47,209,277
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.34
|-
| [[Tibet]] Autonomous Region
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,273,969
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.22
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,251,225
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.18
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,892,393
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.19
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,196,010
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.19
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,620,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.21
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,002,166
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.22
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,648,100
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.26
|-
| [[Xikang]] ''(now defunct)''
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,381,064
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.58
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
|-
| [[Shaanxi]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 15,881,281
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.73
| style="text-align:right;"| 20,766,915
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.99
| style="text-align:right;"| 28,904,423
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.87
| style="text-align:right;"| 32,882,403
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.90
| style="text-align:right;"| 36,050,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.85
| style="text-align:right;"| 37,327,378
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.79
| style="text-align:right;"| 39,528,999
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.80
|-
| [[Gansu]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 12,093,600
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.06
| style="text-align:right;"| 12,630,569
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.82
| style="text-align:right;"| 19,569,261
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.94
| style="text-align:right;"| 22,371,141
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.97
| style="text-align:right;"| 25,620,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.02
| style="text-align:right;"| 25,575,254
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.91
| style="text-align:right;"| 25,019,831
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.77
|-
| [[Ningxia]] Hui Autonomous Region
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,506,200
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.26
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,107,500
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.30
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,895,578
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.39
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,655,451
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.41
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,620,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.44
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,301,350
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.47
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,202,654
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.51
|-
| [[Qinghai]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,676,534
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.29
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,145,604
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.31
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,895,706
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.39
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,456,946
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.39
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,180,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.41
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,626,722
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.42
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,923,957
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.42
|-
| [[Xinjiang]] Uygur Autonomous Region
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,873,608
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.84
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,270,067
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.05
| style="text-align:right;"| 13,081,681
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.30
| style="text-align:right;"| 15,155,778
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.34
| style="text-align:right;"| 19,250,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.52
| style="text-align:right;"| 21,813,334
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.63
| style="text-align:right;"| 25,852,345
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.83
|-
| Military personnel
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,238,210
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,199,100
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,500,000
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,300,000
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,000,000
| style="text-align:right;"|
|-
| Population with permanent residence difficult to define
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,649,985
| style="text-align:right;"|
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! style="text-align:left;"| Total China
! colspan="2" | 582,603,417
! colspan="2" | 694,581,759
! colspan="2" | 1,008,175,288
! colspan="2" | 1,133,682,501
! colspan="2" | 1,265,830,000
! colspan="2" | 1,339,724,852
! colspan="2" | 1,411,778,724
|}

===Structure of the population===
Census population of China by age and sex:
<gallery mode="packed">
File:China Sex by Age 1953 census.png|China population pyramid as of 1st National Census day on June 30, 1953
File:China Sex By Age 1964 census.png|China population pyramid as of 2nd National Census day on July 1, 1964
File:China Sex By Age 1982 census.png|China population pyramid as of 3rd National Census day on July 1, 1982
File:China Sex By Age 1990 census.png|China population pyramid as of 4th National Census day on July 1, 1990
File:China Sex By Age 2000 census.png|China population pyramid as of 5th National Census day on November 1, 2000
File:China Sex By Age 2010 census.png|China population pyramid as of 6th National Census day on November 1, 2010
File:China_population_sex_by_age_on_Nov,_1st,_2020.png|China population pyramid as of 7th National Census day on November 1, 2020
File:China_population_pyramid_projected_for_2030.png|China population pyramid as projected of 8th National Census day on November 1, 2030, in scenario of constant TFR at 2021 level and continued improvements in mortality
</gallery>
[[File:China population pyramid from 1950 to 2022.gif|thumb|279x279px|Population pyramid of China from 1950 to 2022]]
[[File:China population pyramid from 2023 to 2100.gif|thumb|277x277px|[[Aging of China|Age structure projections]] for China up to 2100]]
Population by Sex and Age Group ([[2010 Chinese census|as of November 01, 2010]]). For statistical purposes, the data for China do not include those for [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]]. Data exclude 2.3 million servicemen, 4.65 million persons with permanent resident status difficult to define, and 0.12 per cent undercount based on the post enumeration survey:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dyb_2019/ |title=UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics |access-date=26 May 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414025155/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dyb_2019/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! Age Group
! Male
! Female
! Total
! %
|-
| Total
| 682 329 104
| 650 481 765 
| 1 332 810 869
| {{percentage bar|100}}
|-
| 0–4
| 41 062 566
| 34 470 044
| 75 532 610
| {{percentage bar|5.67}}
|-
| 5–9
| 38 464 665 
| 32 416 884
| 70 881 549
| {{percentage bar|5.32}}
|-
| 10–14
| 40 267 277
| 34 641 185
| 74 908 462
| {{percentage bar|5.62}}
|-
| 15–19
| 51 904 830
| 47 984 284
| 99 889 114
| {{percentage bar|7.49}}
|-
| 20–24
| 64 008 573
| 63 403 945
| 127 412 518
| {{percentage bar|9.56}}
|-
| 25–29
| 50 837 038
| 50 176 814
| 101 013 852
| {{percentage bar|7.58}}
|-
| 30–34
| 49 521 822
| 47 616 381
| 97 138 203
| {{percentage bar|7.29}}
|-
| 35–39
| 60 391 104
| 57 634 855
| 118 025 959
| {{percentage bar|8.86}}
|-
| 40–44
| 63 608 678
| 61 145 286
| 124 753 964
| {{percentage bar|9.36}}
|-
| 45–49
| 53 776 418
| 51 818 135
| 105 594 553
| {{percentage bar|7.92}}
|-
| 50–54
| 40 363 234
| 38 389 937
| 78 753 171
| {{percentage bar|5.91}}
|-
| 55–59
| 41 082 938
| 40 229 536
| 81 312 474
| {{percentage bar|6.10}}
|-
| 60–64
| 29 834 426
| 28 832 856
| 58 667 282
| {{percentage bar|4.40}}
|-
| 65–69
| 20 748 471
| 20 364 811
| 41 113 282
| {{percentage bar|3.08}}
|-
| 70–74
| 16 403 453
| 16 568 944
| 32 972 397
| {{percentage bar|2.47}}
|-
| 75–79
| 11 278 859
| 12 573 274
| 23 852 133
| {{percentage bar|1.79}}
|-
| 80–84
| 5 917 502
| 7 455 696
| 13 373 198
| {{percentage bar|1.00}}
|-
| 85–89
| 2 199 810
| 3 432 118
| 5 631 928
| {{percentage bar|0.42}}
|-
| 90–94
| 530 872
| 1 047 435
| 1 578 307
| {{percentage bar|0.12}}
|-
| 95–99
| 117 716
| 252 263
| 369 979
| {{percentage bar|0.03}}
|-
| 100+
| 8 852
| 27 082
| 35 934
| {{percentage bar|0.01|<0.01%}}
|-
! Age group
! Male
! Female
! Total
! Percent
|-
| 0–14
| 119 794 508
| 101 528 113
| 221 322 621
| {{percentage bar|16.61}}
|-
| 15–64
| 505 329 061
| 487 232 029
| 992 561 090
| {{percentage bar|74.47}}
|-
| 65+
| 57 205 535
| 61 721 623
| 118 927 158
| {{percentage bar|8.92}}
|}

{{GraphChart
| width = 450
| height = 150
| xAxisTitle=year
| yAxisTitle= million
| yAxisMin=
| yGrid= 0,1
| xGrid= 10
| legend=
| type = line
| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 546.8, 557.5, 568.9, 581.4, 595.3, 608.7, 621.5, 637.4, 653.2, 666, 667.1, 660.3, 665.8, 682.3, 698.4, 715.2, 735.4, 754.5, 774.5, 796, 818.3, 841.1, 862, 881.9, 900.4, 916.4, 930.7, 943.5, 956.2, 969, 981.2, 993.9, 1008.1, 1020.2, 1034.8, 1045.3, 1066.8, 1084, 1101.6, 1118.7, 1135.2, 1150.8, 1165, 1178.4, 1191.8, 1204.9, 1217.5, 1230.1, 1241.9, 1252.7, 1262.6, 1271.8, 1280.4, 1288.4, 1296.1, 1303.7, 1311, 1317.9, 1324.7, 1331.4, 1337.8, 1344.1, 1353.8, 1360.7, 1367.8, 1374.6, 1382.7, 1390.1, 1395.4, 1400, 1411.1, 1412.4, 1411.8

| y1Title= population (million)

}}
{{GraphChart
| width = 450
| height = 150
| xAxisTitle=years
| yAxisTitle= ‰
| yAxisMin=
| yGrid= 0,1
| xGrid= 10
| hAnnotatonsLine=0
| hAnnotatonsLabel=
| legend=
| type = line
| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1=  19.0, 20.0, 20.0, 23.0, 24.79, 20.32, 20.50, 23.23, 17.24, 10.19, -4.57, 3.78, 26.99, 33.33, 27.64, 28.38, 26.22, 25.53, 27.38, 26.08, 25.83, 23.33, 22.16, 20.89, 17.48, 15.69, 12.66, 12.06, 12.00, 11.61, 11.87, 14.55, 15.68, 13.29, 13.08, 14.26, 15.57, 16.61, 15.73, 15.04, 14.39, 12.98, 11.60, 11.46, 11.21, 10.55, 10.41, 10.06, 9.14, 8.18, 7.58, 6.95, 6.45, 6.01, 5.87, 5.89, 5.28, 5.17, 5.08, 4.87, 4.79, 6.13, 7.43, 5.90, 6.71, 4.95, 6.53, 5.58, 3.78, 3.32, 1.45, 0.34, -0.60
| y1Title=natural change (per 1000)

}}

===Urbanization===
[[File:New Chinese city (11359603824).jpg|thumb|left|Urban construction work in [[Guangshui]], 2013]]
{{Main|Urbanization in China}}

Urbanization increased in speed following the initiation of the reform and opening policy. By the end of 2024, 67% of the total population lived in urban areas, a rate that rose from 26% in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 January 2025 |title=中国人口连续三年下降 去年减少139万人 |trans-title=China's population has declined for three consecutive years, with a decrease of 1.39 million people last year |url=https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20250117-5747402 |access-date=18 January 2025 |work=[[Lianhe Zaobao]]}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Population control==
{{See also|One-child policy|Two-child policy}}{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2024}}[[File:Birth rate in China.svg|upright=2.04|thumbnail|right|Birth rate in China]]
Initially, China's post-1949 leaders were ideologically disposed to view a large population as an asset. But the liabilities of a large, rapidly growing population soon became apparent. For one year, starting in August 1956, vigorous support was given to the Ministry of Public Health's mass [[birth control]] efforts. These efforts, however, had little impact on fertility. After the interval of the [[Great Leap Forward]], Chinese leaders again saw rapid population growth as an obstacle to development, and their interest in birth control revived. In the early 1960s, schemes somewhat more muted than during the first campaign, emphasized the virtues of late marriage. Birth control offices were set up in the central government and some provincial-level governments in 1964. The second campaign was particularly successful in the cities, where the birth rate was cut in half during the 1963–66 period. The upheaval of the [[Cultural Revolution]] brought the program to a halt, however.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In 1972 and 1973 the party mobilized its resources for a nationwide birth control campaign administered by a group in the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]. Committees to oversee birth control activities were established at all administrative levels and in various collective enterprises. This extensive and seemingly effective network covered both the rural and the urban population. In urban areas public security headquarters included population control sections. In rural areas the country's "[[barefoot doctor]]s" distributed information and contraceptives to [[people's commune]] members. By 1973 [[Mao Zedong]] was personally identified with the family planning movement, signifying a greater leadership commitment to controlled population growth than ever before. Yet until several years after Mao's death in 1976, the leadership was reluctant to put forth directly the rationale that population control was necessary for economic growth and improved [[living standards]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Population growth targets were set for both administrative units and individual families. In the mid-1970s the maximum recommended family size was two children in cities and three or four in the country. In 1979 the government began advocating a one-child limit for both rural and urban areas and has generally set a maximum of two children in special circumstances. As of 1986 the policy for minority nationalities was two children per couple, three in special circumstances, and no limit for ethnic groups with very small populations. The overall goal of the one-child policy was to keep the total population within 1.2&nbsp;billion through the year 2000, on the premise that the [[Four Modernizations]] program would be of little value if population growth was not brought under control.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Under the one-child program, a sophisticated system rewarded those who observed the policy and penalized those who did not. Through this policy, the rate of increasing population was tempered after the penalties were made. Couples with only one child were given a "one-child certificate" entitling them to such benefits as cash bonuses, longer [[maternity leave]], better [[child care]], and preferential housing assignments. In return, they were required to pledge that they would not have more children. In the countryside, there was great pressure to adhere to the one-child limit. Because the rural population accounted for approximately 60% of the total, the effectiveness of the one-child policy in rural areas was considered the key to the success or failure of the program as a whole.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In rural areas the day-to-day work of family planning was done by [[Professional revolutionaries|cadres]] at the team and brigade levels who were responsible for women's affairs and by health workers. The women's team leader made regular household visits to keep track of the status of each family under her jurisdiction and collected information on which women were using [[contraceptives]], the methods used, and which had become pregnant. She then reported to the brigade women's leader, who documented the information and took it to a monthly meeting of the commune birth-planning committee. According to reports, ceilings or quotas had to be adhered to; to satisfy these cutoffs, unmarried young people were persuaded to postpone marriage, couples without children were advised to "wait their turn," women with unauthorized pregnancies were pressured to have abortions, and those who already had children were urged to use [[contraception]] or undergo [[Compulsory sterilization|sterilization]]. Couples with more than one child were exhorted to be sterilized.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The one-child policy enjoyed much greater success in urban than in rural areas. Even without state intervention, there were compelling reasons for urban couples to limit the family to a single child. Raising a child required a significant portion of family income, and in the cities a child did not become an economic asset until he or she entered the work force at age sixteen. Couples with only one child were given preferential treatment in housing allocation. In addition, because city dwellers who were employed in state enterprises received pensions after retirement, the sex of their first child was less important to them than it was to those in rural areas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-03 |title=One-child policy {{!}} Definition, Start Date, Effects, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530075949/https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy |url-status=live}}</ref>

Numerous reports surfaced of coercive measures used to achieve the desired results of the one-child policy. The alleged methods ranged from intense psychological pressure to the use of physical force, including some grisly accounts of forced abortions and infanticide. Chinese officials admitted that isolated, uncondoned abuses of the program occurred and that they condemned such acts, but they insisted that the family planning program was administered on a voluntary basis using persuasion and economic measures only. International reaction to the allegations were mixed. The [[UN Fund for Population Activities]] and the [[International Planned Parenthood Federation]] were generally supportive of China's family planning program. The [[United States Agency for International Development]], however, withdrew US$10&nbsp;million from the Fund in March 1985 based on allegations that coercion had been used.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Observers suggested that an accurate assessment of the one-child program would not be possible until all women who came of childbearing age in the early 1980s passed their fertile years. As of 1987 the one-child program had achieved mixed results. In general, it was very successful in almost all urban areas but less successful in rural areas.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Rapid fertility reduction associated with the one-child policy has potentially negative results. For instance, in the future the elderly might not be able to rely on their children to care for them as they have in the past, leaving the state to assume the expense, which could be considerable. Based on United Nations and Chinese government statistics, it was estimated in 1987 that by 2000 the population 60 years and older (the retirement age is 60 in urban areas) would number 127 million, or 10.1% of the total population; the projection for 2025 was 234&nbsp;million elderly, or 16.4%. According to projections based on the 1982 census, if the one-child policy were maintained to the year 2000, 25% of China's population would be age 65 or older by 2040. In 2050, the number of people over 60 is expected to increase to 430 million.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Du |first1=Peng |last2=Yang |first2=Hui |date=2010 |title=China's population ageing and active ageing |journal=China Journal of Social Work |volume=3 |issue=2–3 |pages=139–152 |doi=10.1080/17525098.2010.492636 |s2cid=153569892}}</ref> Even though China has already opened two-child policy since 2016, data shows that the second-child policy cannot&nbsp;stop&nbsp;the problem of an aging population. China needs to find an appropriate birth policy to optimize the demographic dividend, which refers to the proportion of labor-age population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Pengkun |last2=Wu |first2=Chong |last3=Wu |first3=Yuanyuan |date=June 2018 |title=Reforming Path of China's Fertility Policy in Stabilizing Demographic Dividends Perspective |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-017-1642-0 |journal=Social Indicators Research |language=en |volume=137 |issue=3 |pages=1225–1243 |doi=10.1007/s11205-017-1642-0 |s2cid=157651164 |issn=0303-8300 |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603023126/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-017-1642-0 |url-status=live}}</ref> On the other hand, the higher house prices squeeze the marriage in China. The house price plays an important role on the influence of marriage and fertility. The increasing house price leads to the lower marriage rate and cause the other serious social problems in China.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Su |first1=Chi-Wei |last2=Khan |first2=Khalid |last3=Hao |first3=Lin-Na |last4=Tao |first4=Ran |last5=Peculea |first5=Adelina Dumitrescu |date=2020-01-01 |title=Do house prices squeeze marriages in China? |journal=Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1419–1440 |doi=10.1080/1331677X.2020.1746190 |s2cid=219065105 |issn=1331-677X |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2024, [[United Nations]] researchers forecast China's population to fall to 639&nbsp;million by 2100.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last1=Qi |first1=Liyan |last2=Li |first2=Ming |date=July 11, 2024 |title=The One-Child Policy Supercharged China's Economic Miracle. Now It's Paying the Price. |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-slowing-economy-7ff938e5 |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 12, 2024 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |quote=...the U.N. expects China’s population to drop from 1.4 billion today to 639 million by 2100, a much steeper drop than the 766.7 million it predicted just two years ago. |archive-date=12 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712155824/https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-slowing-economy-7ff938e5 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, researchers from [[Victoria University (Australia)|Victoria University]] and the [[Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences]] forecast that China's population will fall to approximately 525&nbsp;million by 2100 at current rates.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Qi |first=Liyan |date=February 12, 2024 |title=How China Miscalculated Its Way to a Baby Bust |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-births-economy-one-child-c5b95901 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-02-13 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |language=en-US |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213172910/https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-population-births-economy-one-child-c5b95901 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> This revision, reducing the population estimate to 525 million from a previous forecast of 597&nbsp;million by 2100, indicates a sharper decline than previously anticipated.<ref name=":2" />

==Vital statistics==
[[File:China population changes.webp|thumb|upright=1.2|China population changes 1949 - 2022{{Update inline|date=January 2024|reason=2023 population estimates}}]]

===Total fertility rate from 1930 to 1949===
These are estimates as there are no registry data for that period. Sources: [[Our World In Data]] and [[Gapminder Foundation]].<ref name="ourworldindata.org">{{citation |url=https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate |title=Fertility Rate |author=Max Roser |date=2014 |work=[[Our World In Data]], [[Gapminder Foundation]] |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=21 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121073056/https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Years !! 1930!!1931!!1932!!1933!!1934!!1935!!1936!!1937!!1938!!1939!!1940<ref name="ourworldindata.org"/>
|-
| align="left"|Total fertility rate in China||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.5||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.47 ||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.45||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.43||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.4||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.38||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.35||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.32||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.3||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.28||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.25
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! Years !! 1941!!1942!!1943!!1944!!1945!!1946!!1947!!1948!!1949<ref name="ourworldindata.org"/>
|-
| align="left"|Total fertility rate in China||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.15||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.06 ||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|4.96||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|4.86||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|4.77||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.2||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|4.91||style="text-align:right; color:blue;"|5.54
|}

===Births and deaths as of 1949===
Notable events in demography of China:
* 1958–1962 [[Great Leap Forward]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|-
!
! style="width:70pt;"|Midyear population 
! style="width:70pt;"|[[Live birth (human)|Live births]]<sup>1</sup>
! style="width:70pt;"|Deaths<sup>1</sup>
! style="width:70pt;"|Natural change<sup>1</sup>
! style="width:70pt;"|[[Birth rate|Crude birth rate]] (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|[[Mortality rate|Crude death rate]] (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|Natural change (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|Crude migration rate (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|[[Total fertility rate]]
|-
| 1949
|537,371,000
|19,345,000||10,747,000||8,598,000
|36.0||20.0||16.0|| ||
|-
| 1950
|546,815,000
|20,232,000||9,843,000||10,389,000
|37.0||18.0||19.0|| -1.4||5.29
|-
| 1951
|557,480,000
|21,073,000||9,923,000||11,150,000
|37.8||17.8||20.0||-0.5||
|-
| 1952
|568,910,000
|21,050,000||9,671,000||11,379,000
|37.0||17.0||20.0||0.5||
|-
| 1953
|581,390,000
|21,511,000||8,139,000||13,372,000
|37.0||14.0||23.0||-1.1||
|-
| 1954
|595,310,000
|22,604,000||7,846,000||14,758,000
|37.97||13.18||24.79||-0.8||
|-
| 1955
|608,655,000
|19,842,000||7,474,000||12,368,000
|32.60||12.28||20.32||2.1||5.98
|-
| 1956
|621,465,000
|19,825,000||7,085,000||12,740,000
|31.90||11.40||20.50||0.5||
|-
| 1957
|637,405,000
|21,691,000||6,884,000||14,807,000
|34.03||10.80||23.23||2.4||
|-
| 1958
|653,235,000
|19,088,000||7,826,000||11,262,000
|29.22||11.98||17.24||7.6||
|-
| 1959
|666,005,000
|16,504,000||9,717,000||6,787,000
|24.78||14.59||10.19||style="color:blue"|9.4||
|-
| 1960
|667,070,000
|13,915,000
|style="color: red" |16,964,000
|style="color: red"|−3,049,000
|20.86||style="color: red" |25.43||style="color: red"|−4.57||6.2||3.99
|-
| 1961
|660,330,000
|11,899,000
|9,403,000||2,496,000
|18.02||14.24||3.78||-13.9||3.37
|-
| 1962
|665,770,000
|24,640,000||6,671,000||17,969,000
|37.01||10.02||26.99||style="color:red|-18.8||
|-
| 1963
|682,335,000
|style="color: blue" |29,593,000
|6,851,000
|style="color: blue"|22,742,000
|style="color: blue" |43.37||10.04||style="color: blue" |33.33||-8.4||style="color: blue" |6.88
|-
| 1964
|698,355,000
|27,334,000||8,031,000||19,303,000
|39.14||11.50||27.64||-4.2||
|-
| 1965
|715,185,000
|27,091,000||6,794,000||20,297,000
|37.88||9.50||28.38||-4.3||6.02
|-
| 1966
|735,400,000
|25,776,000||6,494,000||19,282,000
|35.05||8.83||26.22||2.0||
|-
| 1967
|754,550,000
|25,625,000||6,361,000||19,264,000
|33.96||8.43||25.53||0.5||
|-
| 1968
|774,510,000
|27,565,000||6,359,000||21,206,000
|35.59||8.21||27.38||-0.9||
|-
| 1969
|796,025,000
|27,152,000||6,392,000||20,760,000
|34.11||8.03||26.08||1.7
|-
| 1970
|818,315,000
|27,356,000||6,219,000||21,137,000
|33.43||7.60||25.83||2.2||5.75
|-
| 1971
|841,105,000
|25,780,000||6,157,000||19,623,000
|30.65||7.32||23.33||4.5||
|-
| 1972
|862,030,000
|25,663,000||6,560,000||19,103,000
|29.77||7.61||22.16||2.7||
|-
| 1973
|881,940,000
|24,633,000||6,209,000||18,424,000
|27.93||7.04||20.89||2.2||
|-
| 1974
|900,350,000
|22,347,000||6,609,000||15,738,000
|24.82||7.34||17.48||3.4||
|-
| 1975
|916,395,000
|21,086,000||6,708,000||14,378,000
|23.01||7.32||15.69||2.1||3.58
|-
| 1976
|930,685,000
|18,530,000||6,747,000||11,783,000
|19.91||7.25||12.66||2.9||
|-
| 1977
|943,455,000
|17,860,000||6,482,000||11,378,000
|18.93||6.87||12.06||1.7||
|-
| 1978
|956,165,000
|17,450,000
|style="color: blue" |5,976,000
|11,474,000
|18.25||6.25||12.00||1.5||
|-
| 1979
|969,005,000
|17,268,000||6,018,000||11,250,000
|18.21||style="color: blue" |6.21||11.87||1.6||
|-
| 1980
|981,235,000
|17,868,000||6,221,000||11,647,000
|18.21||6.34||11.87||0.8
|2.32
|-
| 1981
|993,885,000
|20,782,000||6,321,000||14,461,000
|20.91||6.36||14.55||-1.7||
|-
| 1982
|1,008,630,000
|21,260,000||6,653,000||14,607,000
|22.28||6.60||15.68||-0.8||
|-
| 1983
|1,023,310,000
|18,996,000||7,223,000||11,773,000
|20.19||6.90||13.29||1.3||
|-
| 1984
|1,036,825,000
|18,022,000||6,890,000||11,132,000
|19.90||6.82||13.08||0.1||
|-
| 1985
|1,051,040,000
|21,994,000||7,087,000||14,907,000
|21.04||6.78||14.26||-0.5
|2.65
|-
| 1986
|1,066,790,000
|23,928,000||7,318,000||16,610,000
|22.43||6.86||15.57||-0.6||
|-
| 1987
|1,084,035,000
|25,291,000||7,285,000||18,006,000
|23.33||6.72||16.61||-0.4||
|-
| 1988
|1,101,630,000
|24,643,000||7,315,000||17,328,000
|22.37||6.64||15.73||0.5||
|-
| 1989
|1,118,650,000
|24,140,000||7,316,000||16,824,000
|21.58||6.54||15.04||0.4||
|-
| 1990
|1,135,185,000
|23,910,000||7,570,000||16,340,000
|21.06||6.67||14.39||0.4
|2.43
|-
| 1991
|1,150,780,000
|22,650,000||7,710,000||14,940,000
|19.68||6.70||12.98||0.8||
|-
| 1992
|1,164,970,000
|21,250,000||7,740,000||13,510,000
|18.24||6.64||11.60||0.7||
|-
| 1993
|1,178,440,000
|21,320,000||7,820,000||13,500,000
|18.09||6.64||11.45||0.1||
|-
| 1994
|1,191,835,000
|21,100,000||7,740,000||13,360,000
|17.70||6.49||11.21||0.2||
|-
| 1995
|1,204,855,000
|20,630,000||7,920,000||12,710,000
|17.12||6.57||10.55|| 0.4
|1.68
|-
| 1996
|1,217,550,000
|20,670,000||7,990,000||12,680,000
|16.98||6.56||10.42||0.1||
|-
| 1997
|1,230,075,000
|20,380,000||8,010,000||12,370,000
|16.57||6.51||10.06||0.2||
|-
| 1998
|1,241,935,000
|19,420,000||8,070,000||11,350,000
|15.64||6.50||9.14||0.5||
|-
| 1999
|1,252,735,000
|18,340,000||8,090,000||10,250,000
|14.64||6.46||8.18||0.5||
|-
| 2000
|1,262,645,000
|17,710,000||8,140,000||9,570,000
|14.03||6.45||7.58||0.3
|1.45
|-
| 2001
|1,271,850,000
|17,020,000||8,180,000||8,840,000
|13.38||6.43||6.95||0.3||
|-
| 2002
|1,280,400,000
|16,470,000||8,210,000||8,260,000
|12.86||6.41||6.45||0.3||
|-
| 2003
|1,288,400,000
|15,990,000||8,250,000||7,740,000
|12.41||6.40||6.01||0.2||
|-
| 2004
|1,296,075,000
|15,930,000||8,320,000||7,610,000
|12.29||6.42||5.87||0.1||
|-
| 2005
|1,303,720,000
|16,170,000||8,490,000||7,680,000
|12.40||6.51||5.89||0
|1.51
|-
| 2006
|1,311,020,000
|15,850,000||8,930,000||6,920,000
|12.09||6.81||5.28||0.3||1.50
|-
| 2007
|1,317,885,000
|15,940,000||9,130,000||6,810,000
|12.10||6.93||5.17||0.1||1.53
|-
| 2008
|1,324,655,000
|16,080,000||9,350,000||6,730,000
|12.14||7.06||5.08||0.1||1.55
|-
| 2009
|1,331,260,000
|15,910,000||9,430,000||6,480,000
|11.95||7.08||4.87||0.1||1.54
|-
| 2010
|1,337,705,000
|15,920,000||9,510,000||6,410,000
|11.90||7.11||4.79||0.1
|1.54  
|-
| 2011
|1,345,035,000
|17,970,000||9,600,000||8,370,000
|13.27||7.14||6.13||-0.7||
|-
| 2012
|1,354,190,000
|19,730,000||9,660,000||10,070,000
|14.57||7.13||7.43||-0.6||
|-
| 2013
|1,363,240,000
|17,760,000||9,720,000||8,040,000
|13.03||7.13||5.9||0.8||
|-
| 2014
|1,371,860,000
|18,970,000||9,770,000||9,200,000
|13.83||7.12||6.71||-0.4||
|-
|-
|2015
|1,379,860,000
|16,550,000
|9,750,000
|6,800,000
|11.99
|7.07
|4.93
| 0.9
|1.57
|-
| 2016
|1,387,790,000
|17,860,000||9,770,000 ||8,090,000
|12.95 ||7.09 ||5.86 || -0.1||1.70
|-
|2017
|1,396,215,000
|17,230,000
|9,860,000
|7,370,000
|12.64
|7.06
|5.58
| 0.5
|1.67
|-
|2018
|1,402,760,000
|15,230,000
|9,930,000
|5,300,000
|10.86
|7.08
|3.78
| 0.9
|1.55
|-
|2019
|1,407,745,000
|14,650,000
|9,980,000
|4,670,000
|10.41
|7.09
|3.32
| 0.2
|1.50
|-
|2020
|1,411,100,000
|12,020,000
|9,970,000
|2,050,000
|8.52
|7.07
|1.45
| 0.9
|1.28
|-
|2021
|style="color: blue"|1,412,360,000
|10,620,000
|10,140,000
|480,000
|7.52
|7.18
|0.34
| 0.6
|1.16
|-
|2022<ref name=":0" />
|1,411,750,000
|9,560,000
|10,410,000
|style="color: red"|−850,000
|6.77
|7.37
|style="color: red"|−0.60
| 0.2
|1.09
|-
|2023<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202401/t20240117_1946605.html |title=National Economy Witnessed Momentum of Recovery with Solid Progress in High-quality Development in 2023 |access-date=17 January 2024 |archive-date=17 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117064011/https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202401/t20240117_1946605.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|1,409,670,000
|style="color: red"|9,020,000
|11,100,000
|style="color: red"|−2,080,000
|style="color: red"|6.39
|7.87
|style="color: red"|−1.48
| 0
|style="color: red"|1.07
|-
|2024<ref>{{cite news|title=China's population falls for a third consecutive year|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-population-falls-third-consecutive-year-2025-01-17/|work=[[Reuters]]|date=17 January 2025}}</ref>
|1,408,280,000
|9,540,000
|10,930,000
|style="color: red"|−1,390,000
|6.77
|7.76
|style="color: red"|−0.99
|
|1.15
|}

{{GraphChart
| width = 450
| height = 150
| xAxisTitle=years
| yAxisTitle= TFR
| yAxisMin=
| yGrid= 0,1
| xGrid= 10
| hAnnotatonsLine=2.1
| hAnnotatonsLabel=
| legend=
| type = line
| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1=  5.29,,,,,5.98,,,,,3.99,,,,,6.02,,,,,5.75,,,,,3.58,,,,,2.32,,,,,2.65,,,,,2.43,,,,,1.68,,,,,1.45,,,,,1.51,,1.53, 1.55, 1.54,1.54,,,,,1.57, 1.70, 1.67, 1.55, 1.50, 1.30, 1.16, 1.08

| y1Title=total fertility rate

}}

===Total fertility rate by region===
According to the 2000 census, the [[Total fertility rate|TFR]] was 1.22 (0.86 for cities, 1.08 for towns and 1.43 for villages/outposts). Beijing had the lowest [[Total fertility rate|TFR]] at 0.67, while [[Guizhou]] had the highest at 2.19. The [[Xiangyang District, Jiamusi|Xiangyang district]] of [[Jiamusi]] city ([[Heilongjiang]]) has a TFR of 0.41, which is the lowest TFR recorded anywhere in the world in recorded history. Other extremely low TFR counties are: 0.43 in the [[Heping District, Tianjin|Heping district]] of [[Tianjin city]] ([[Tianjin]]), and 0.46 in the [[Mawei district]] of [[Fuzhou]] city ([[Fujian]]). At the other end TFR was 3.96 in [[Geji County]] ([[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]]), 4.07 in [[Jiali County]] (Tibet), and 5.47 in [[Baqing County]] (Tibet).<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Terrell |first=Heather |title=Fertility in China in 2000: A County Level Analysis |date=2005 |access-date=14 December 2022 |type=MS thesis |publisher=Texas A&M University |url=https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/3892 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214155317/https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/3892 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |hdl=1969.1/3892 |df=dmy-all |url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2010 census reported a TFR of 1.18 (0.88 in cities, 1.15 in townships, and
1.44 in rural areas).<ref name="iussp.org">{{cite web |author1=Wang Guang-zhou |author2=Fu Chong-hui |title=New fertility changes and characteristics from the sixth population census in China |url=http://www.iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/New%20fertility%20changes%20and%20characteristics%20from%20the%20sixth%20population%20census%20in%20China-isupp-11.21_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403072026/http://iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/New%20fertility%20changes%20and%20characteristics%20from%20the%20sixth%20population%20census%20in%20China-isupp-11.21_0.pdf |archive-date=3 April 2016 |access-date=31 August 2017 |website=Iussp.org}}</ref>
The five regions with the lowest fertility rates were Beijing (0.71), Shanghai
(0.74), [[Liaoning]] (0.74), [[Heilongjiang]] (0.75), and [[Jilin]] (0.76). The five regions with the highest
fertility rates were [[Guangxi]] (1.79), [[Guizhou]] (1.75), [[Xinjiang]] (1.53), [[Hainan]] (1.51), and [[Anhui]]
(1.48).<ref name="iussp.org" />

The 2020 census reported a TFR of 1.301, with 1.118 in cities, 1.395 in townships, and 1.543 in rural areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=China Population Census Yearbook 2020, 6-4 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219081310/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |archive-date=19 February 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第七次人口普查数据}}</ref> 
The shift of fertility rate recorded in 2020 census compared to that in the previous 2 censuses may not be an actual recovery, but rather due to the low quality and massive underreporting of lower-age groups in the 2000 and 2010 censuses, while the [[One-child policy|population control policy]] in China back then may also give families an incentive to hide their children, which is largely relieved as the policy changed in 2010s. This can be demonstrated by the much lower number of population aged 0~4 and 5~9 in the 2000 and 2010 censuses <ref>{{cite web |title=中国2000年人口普查资料，3-1 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/5rp/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411163117/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/5rp/index.htm |archive-date=11 April 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第五次人口普查数据}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=中国2010年人口普查资料，3-1 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403024816/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |archive-date=3 April 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第六次人口普查数据}}</ref> when compared to the corresponding age groups in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=China Population Census Yearbook 2020，3-1 |url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219081310/https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/pcsj/rkpc/7rp/zk/indexch.htm |archive-date=19 February 2024 |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=国家统计局-第七次人口普查数据}}</ref>

Total fertility rate by ethnic group (2010 census): [[Han Chinese|Han]] (1.14), [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] (1.59), [[Hui people|Hui]] (1.48), [[Manchu people|Manchu]] (1.18), [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] (2.04), [[Miao people|Miao]] (1.82), [[Yi people|Yi]] (1.82), [[Tujia people|Tujia]] (1.74), [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] (1.60), [[Mongols]] (1.26).<ref>{{cite web |last=Team |first=Discuz! Team and Comsenz UI |title=科学网—2010年人口普查各民族人口数据 - 易富贤的博文 |url=http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-385383-765643.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831225100/http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-385383-765643.html |archive-date=31 August 2017 |access-date=31 August 2017 |website=blog.sciencenet.cn}}</ref>

===Life expectancy===
{{See also|List of Chinese administrative divisions by life expectancy}}

[[File:Life expectancy map of China 2019 with names.png|upright=1.36|thumb|Map of Chinese regions by life expectancy in 2019<ref name="CCDC_Weekly">{{cite journal |author=Jing Yang, Ruhai Bai, Lijun Wang, Xiaoqi Feng, Yunning Liu, Maigeng Zhou |title=Healthy China: A Projection of Life Expectancy Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 — China, 1990–2030 |journal=[[China CDC Weekly]] |language=en |date=13 January 2023 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=40–44 |doi=10.46234/ccdcw2023.008 |pmid=36776687 |pmc=9902745}} — table 1, page 42</ref>]]
[[File:Life expectancy by WBG -China -diff.png|thumb|upright=1.36|Life expectancy in China since 1960 by gender]]
Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''<ref>{{cite web |title=World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations |url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/ |access-date=2017-07-15 |archive-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
!Period
!Life expectancy in<br />Years
!Period
!Life expectancy in<br />Years
|-
|1950–1955
|43.8
|1985–1990
|68.9
|-
|1955–1960
|44.5
|1990–1995
|69.7
|-
|1960–1965
|44.6
|1995–2000
|70.9
|-
|1965–1970
|55.5
|2000–2005
|73.1
|-
|1970–1975
|61.7
|2005–2010
|74.7
|-
|1975–1980
|65.5
|2010–2015
|75.7
|-
|1980–1985
|67.8
|2023<ref>{{Cite web |last=杨怡 |title=China's average life expectancy rises to 78.6 yrs |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202408/29/WS66d01f00a31060630b925a65.html |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref>
|78.6
|}

===Fertility and mortality===
[[File:Chang%27an_avenue_in_Beijing.jpg|thumb|upright=1.36|Traffic in Beijing]]
{{See also|Aging of China}}{{More citations needed|section|date=September 2024}}
In 1949 crude death rates were probably higher than 30 per 1,000, and the average life expectancy was only 35 years. Beginning in the early 1950s, [[Mortality rate|mortality]] steadily declined; it continued to decline through 1978 and remained relatively constant through 1987. One major fluctuation was reported in a computer reconstruction of China's population trends from 1953 to 1987 produced by the [[United States Bureau of the Census]]. The computer model showed that the crude death rate increased dramatically during the famine years associated with the [[Great Leap Forward]] (1958–60).{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

According to Chinese government statistics, the crude birth rate followed five distinct patterns from 1949 to 1982. It remained stable from 1949 to 1954, varied widely from 1955 to 1965, experienced fluctuations between 1966 and 1969, dropped sharply in the late 1970s, and increased from 1980 to 1981. Between 1970 and 1980, the crude birth rate dropped from 33.4 per 1,000 to 18.2 per 1,000. The government attributed this dramatic decline in fertility to the ''wǎn xī shǎo'' ("晚、稀、少", or "late, long, few": later marriages, longer intervals between births, and fewer children) [[birth control]] campaign. However, elements of socioeconomic change, such as increased employment of women in both urban and rural areas and reduced [[infant mortality]] (a greater percentage of surviving children would tend to reduce demand for additional children), may have played some role. The birth rate increased in the 1980s to a level over 20 per 1,000, primarily as a result of a marked rise in marriages and first births. The rise was an indication of problems with the one-child policy of 1979. Chinese sources, however, indicate that the birth rate started to decrease again in the 1990s and reached a level of around 12 per 1,000 in recent years.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

In urban areas, the housing shortage may have been at least partly responsible for the decreased birth rate. Also, the policy in force during most of the 1960s and the early 1970s of sending large numbers of high school graduates to the countryside deprived cities of a significant proportion of persons of childbearing age and undoubtedly had some effect on birth rates (see [[Cultural Revolution]] (1966–76)). Primarily for economic reasons, rural birth rates tended to decline less than urban rates. The right to grow and sell agricultural products for personal profit and the lack of an old-age [[Economic welfare|welfare system]] were incentives for rural people to produce many children, especially sons, for help in the fields and for support in old age. Because of these conditions, it is unclear to what degree education has been able to erode traditional values favoring large families.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

China exhibits a serious [[son preference in China|gender imbalance]]. Census data obtained in 2000 revealed that 119 boys were born for every 100 girls, and among China's "floating population" the ratio was as high as 128:100. These situations led the government in July 2004 to ban selective abortions of female fetuses. It is estimated{{By whom|date=December 2024}} that this imbalance will rise until 2025–2030 to reach 20% then slowly decrease.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sinoptic.ch/textes/articles/2007/2007_Projection.population.Chine.pdf |title=Pascal Rocha da Silva, Projection de la population chinoise 2000–2050, p. 9, cf. |access-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811020453/http://www.sinoptic.ch/textes/articles/2007/2007_Projection.population.Chine.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2013 |df=dmy}}</ref>

In the 2020s, cash incentives have been offered to increase birth rates.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lang |first=Qian |date=November 20, 2024 |title=Remote Chinese county offers cash for babies to boost population |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2024/11/20/china-births-gansu-cash-babies/ |access-date=November 21, 2024 |work=[[Radio Free Asia]]}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last1=Olcott |first1=Eleanor |last2=Xueqiao |first2=Wang |last3=Liu |first3=Nian |date=2024-12-25 |title=China steps up campaign for single people to date, marry and give birth |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5fdf42e1-2975-4c99-9031-a9f73c2251be |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-12-25 |work=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref> Local government family-planning committees, previously used to enforce the one-child policy, are deployed for pro-natalist policies such as calling women to check on their [[menstrual cycle]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 28, 2024 |title=China's government is badgering women to have babies |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2024/11/28/chinas-government-is-badgering-women-to-have-babies |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-11-28 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Arthur |date=2025-05-01 |title=As Marriage Registrations Drop, Local Officials Text Women: “How Has Your Period Been Recently?” |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/04/as-marriage-registrations-drop-local-officials-text-women-how-has-your-period-been-recently/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=[[China Digital Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Censorship of data ====
Although the [[National Bureau of Statistics of China]] reported 9.02 million births in 2023,<ref name=":22"/> the state-owned ''Mother and Infant Daily'' newspaper reported there were 7.88 million births for the same year.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=December 27, 2023 |title=China deletes leaked stats showing plunging birth rate for 2023 |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-birth-rates-plunge-12272023160425.html |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Radio Free Asia]] |language=en |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102191523/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-birth-rates-plunge-12272023160425.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The report was promptly [[Internet censorship in China|censored]] following publication.<ref name=":3" />

===Labor force===
In 2012, for the first time, according to the [[National Bureau of Statistics of China|National Bureau of Statistics]] in January 2013, the number of people theoretically able to enter the Chinese labor force (individuals aged 15 to 59), shrank slightly to 937.27 million, a decrease of 3.45 million from 2011. This trend, resulting from a [[demographic transition]], is anticipated to continue until at least 2030.<ref name=CNBC011913>{{cite news |title=Chinese Labor Pool Begins to Drain |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2013/01/19/chinese-labor-pool-begins-to-drain.html |access-date=8 February 2013 |newspaper=CNBC |date=19 January 2013 |author=Jamil Anderliniin |author2=Ed Crooks |agency=Financial Times |archive-date=28 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328064737/http://www.cnbc.com/id/100392731 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[World Factbook]] estimated the 2019 active labor force was 774.71&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |title=CIA World Fact Book |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |website=Cia.gov |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213122152/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Height and weight===
As of 2020, the average Chinese man was {{convert|169.7|cm|ftin|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall in 2019, the figures showed, and women's average height was {{convert|158|cm|ftin|sp=us}}. The same study showed an average Chinese man weighed {{convert|69.6|kg|lb stlb}}, up {{convert|3.4|kg|lb}} over 10 years, while women were {{convert|1.7|kg|lb}} heavier on average at {{convert|59|kg|lb stlb}}. They were up {{convert|1.2|and|0.8|cm|in|sp=us}} respectively from 5 years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=中国男性和女性平均身高分别为169.7厘米和158厘米-中新网 |url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2020/12-23/9369166.shtml |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=www.chinanews.com.cn |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609115801/https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2020/12-23/9369166.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Gender balance===
Future challenges for China will be the gender disparity. According to the [[2020 Chinese census|2020 census]], males account for 51.24% of China's 1.41&nbsp;billion people, while females made up 48.76% of the total. The sex ratio (the number of males for each female in a population) at birth was 118.06 boys to every 100 girls (54.14%) in [[Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China|2010]], higher than the 116.86 (53.89%) of 2000, but 0.53 points lower than the ratio of 118.59 (54.25%) in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/28/c_13850191.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911115321/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/28/c_13850191.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 September 2011 |title=Chinese mainland gender ratios most balanced since 1950s: census data |website=News.xinhuanet.com |date=28 April 2011 |access-date=14 October 2013}}</ref>

== Ethnic groups ==
{{Main list|List of ethnic groups in China}}

The People's Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are [[Han Chinese|Han]], who constitute 91.51% of the total population in 2010. Ethnic minorities constitute 8.49% or 113.8&nbsp;million of China's population in 2010. During the past decades ethnic minorities have experienced higher growth rates than the majority [[Han Chinese|Han]] population, because they are not under the one-child policy. Their proportion of the population in China has grown from 6.1% in 1953, to 8.04% in 1990, 8.41% in 2000, and 8.49% in 2010. Large ethnic minorities (data according to the 2000 census) include the [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] (16&nbsp;million, 1.28%), [[Manchu people|Manchu]] (10&nbsp;million, 0.84%), [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] (9&nbsp;million, 0.78%), [[Hui Chinese|Hui]] (9&nbsp;million, 0.71%), [[Miao people|Miao]] (8&nbsp;million, 0.71%), [[Yi people|Yi]] (7&nbsp;million, 0.61%), [[Tujia people|Tujia]] (5.75&nbsp;million, 0.63%), [[Mongols in China|Mongols]] (5&nbsp;million, 0.46%), [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] (5&nbsp;million, 0.43%), [[Buyei]] (3&nbsp;million, 0.23%), and [[Koreans|Korean]] (2&nbsp;million, 0.15%). Over 126,000 Westerners from [[Canada]], the [[US]] and [[Europe]] are living in mainland China.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/expats-in-china-nationalities-and-in-which-cities-they-settle/ |title=Expats in China: Nationalities and in which cities they settle |access-date=9 February 2020 |archive-date=5 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505091557/http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/expats-in-china-nationalities-and-in-which-cities-they-settle/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Almost 1% of people living in [[Hong Kong]] are [[Westerners]].{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|+Population of China according to ethnic group in censuses 1953–2020<ref name=autogenerated2 />
! Ethnic group
! Language family
! 1953 !! %
! 1964 !! %
! 1982 !! %
! 1990 !! %
! 2000 !! %
! 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/excel/A0201.xls |format=XLS |title=2-1 全国各民族分年龄、性别的人口 |website=Stats.gov.cn |access-date=31 August 2017 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122908/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/excel/A0201.xls |url-status=live}}</ref> !! %
! 2020<ref name="stats.gov.cn">{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html |title=Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census |website=Stats.gov.cn |access-date=25 July 2021 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511031334/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2021/indexee.htm |title=China Statistical Yearbook 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112214228/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2021/indexee.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> !! %
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Han Chinese|Han]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|547,283,057 ||93.94
|651,296,368 ||94.22
|936,703,824 ||93.30
|1,039,187,548 ||91.92
|1,137,386,112 ||91.53
|1,220,844,520 ||91.60
|1,286,310,000 ||91.11
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Minority groups
|
|35,320,360||6.06
|39,883,909||5.78
|67,233,254||6.67
|90,570,743||8.01
|105,225,173||8.47
|111,966,349||8.40
|125,470,000||8.89
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
|6,611,455||1.13
|8,386,140||1.21
|13,441,900||1.32
|15,555,820||1.38
|16,178,811||1.28
|16,926,381||1.27
|19,568,546||1.39
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Uyghurs]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
|3,640,125||0.62
|3,996,311||0.58
|5,917,030||0.59
|7,207,024||0.64
|8,399,393||0.66
|10,069,346||0.76
|11,774,538||0.84
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Hui people|Hui]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|3,559,350||0.61
|4,473,147||0.64
|7,207,780||0.71
|8,612,001||0.76
|9,816,802||0.78
|10,586,087||0.79
|11,377,914||0.81
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Miao people|Miao]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Hmong-Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]]
|2,511,339||0.43
|2,782,088||0.40
|5,017,260||0.50
|7,383,622||0.65
|8,940,116||0.71
|9,426,007||0.71
|11,067,929||0.79
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Manchu]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]
|2,418,931||0.42
|2,695,675||0.39
|4,299,950||0.43
|9,846,776||0.87
|10,682,263||0.84
|10,387,958||0.78
|10,423,303||0.74
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Yi people|Yi]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|3,254,269||0.56
|3,380,960||0.49
|5,492,330||0.54
|6,578,524||0.58
|7,762,286||0.61
|8,714,393||0.65
|9,830,327||0.70
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Tujia people|Tujia]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| || 
| ||
|284,900||0.03
|5,725,049||0.51
|8,028,133||0.63
|8,353,912||0.63
|9,587,732||0.68
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Tibetans]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|2,775,622||0.48
|2,501,174||0.36
|3,821,950||0.38
|4,593,072||0.41
|5,416,021||0.43
|6,282,187||0.47
|7,060,731||0.50
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Mongols]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
|1,462,956||0.25
|1,965,766||0.28
|3,402,200||0.34
|4,802,407||0.42
|5,813,947||0.46
|5,981,840||0.45
|6,290,204||0.45
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Buyei]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
|1,247,883||0.21
|1,348,055||0.19
|2,103,150||0.21
|2,548,294||0.22
|2,971,460||0.23
|2,870,034||0.22
|3,576,752||0.25
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Dong people|Dong]]|| style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
| 712802 ||
| 836123||
|1,446,190 ||0.14
|2,508,624 ||0.22
|2,960,293 ||0.24
|2,879,974 ||0.22
|3,495,993 ||0.25
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Yao people|Yao]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Hmong-Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]]
|665933 	 ||
| 857265 	||
|1,414,870 ||0.14
|2,137,033 ||0.19
|2,637,421 ||0.21
|2,796,003 ||0.21
|3,309,341 ||0.23
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Bai people|Bai]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|567119 	 ||
|706623 	 ||
|1,147,360 ||0.11
|1,598,052 ||0.14
|1,858,063 ||0.15
|1,933,510 ||0.15
|2,091,543 ||0.15
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Hani people|Hani]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|481220 	 ||
| 628727 	||
|1,063,300 ||0.11
|1,254,800 ||0.11
|1,439,673 ||0.12
|1,660,932 ||0.12
|1,733,166 ||0.12
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Koreans|Korean]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Koreanic languages|Koreanic]]
|1,120,405||0.19
|1,339,569||0.19
|1,783,150||0.18
|1,923,361||0.17
|1,923,842||0.15
|1,830,929||0.14
|1,702,479||0.12
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Li people|Li]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
| 360950 	||
| 438813 	||
|882,030 ||0.09
|1,112,498 ||0.10
|1,247,814 ||0.10
|1,463,064 ||0.11
|1,602,104 ||0.11
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| 509375 	||
|491637 	 ||
|878,570 ||0.09
|1,110,758 ||0.10
|1,250,458 ||0.10
|1,462,588 ||0.11
|1,562,518 ||0.11
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Dai people|Dai]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
| 478966 	||
| 535389 	||
|864,340 ||0.09
|1,025,402 ||0.09
|1,158,989 ||0.09
|1,261,311 ||0.09
|1,329,985 ||0.09
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[She people|She]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Hmong-Mien languages|Hmong-Mien]]
| ||
|234167 	 ||
|379,080 ||0.04
|634,700 ||0.06
|709,592 ||0.06
|708,651 ||0.05
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Lisu people|Lisu]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|317465 	 ||
|270628 	 ||
|466,760 ||0.05
|574,589 ||0.05
|634,912 ||0.05
|702,839 ||0.05
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Gelao people|Gelao]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
| ||
|26852 	 ||
|59,810 ||0.01
|438,192 ||0.04
|579,357||0.05
|550,746||0.04
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
|155761 	 	 ||
|147443 ||
| 279523 	 || –
|373,669 ||0.03
|513,805 ||0.04
|621,500 ||0.05
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Taiwanese aborigines|Gaoshan]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]
|329 		 ||
| 366 ||
|1,750 ||0.00
|2,877 ||0.00
|4,461 ||0.00
|4,009 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Lahu people|Lahu]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| 139060 	 	||
| 191241||
|320,350 ||0.03
|411,545 ||0.04
|453,705 ||0.04
|485,966 ||0.04
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Sui people|Sui]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
|133566 		 ||
|156099  ||
|300,690 ||0.03
|347,116 ||0.03
|406,902 ||0.03
|411,847 ||0.03
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Va people|Va]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer]]
|286158 	 	 ||
| 200272||
|271,050 ||0.03
|351,980 ||0.03
|396,610 ||0.03
|429,709 ||0.03
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Nakhi people|Nakhi]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|143453 	 	 ||
|156796 ||
|248,650 ||0.02
|277,750 ||0.02
|308,839 ||0.02
|326,295 ||0.02
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Qiang people|Qiang]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| 35660 	 	||
| 49105||
|109,760 ||0.01
|198,303 ||0.02
|306,072 ||0.02
|309,576 ||0.02
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Monguor people|Tu]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
|53277 		 ||
| 77349 ||
|148,760 ||0.01
|192,568 ||0.02
|241,198 ||0.02
|289,565 ||0.02
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Mulao people|Mulao]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
| ||
|52819 	 ||
|91,790 ||0.01
|160,648 ||0.01
|207,352 ||0.02
|216,257 ||0.02
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Xibe people|Xibe]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]
|19022 	 ||
|33438 	 ||
|77,560 ||0.01
|172,932 ||0.02
|188,824 ||0.02
|190,481 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| 70944 	 	||
|70151 ||
|108,790 ||0.01
|143,537 ||0.01
|160,823 ||0.01
|186,708 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Daur people|Daur]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
| ||
| 63394 	||
| 94126 	 || –
|121,463 ||0.01
|132,143 ||0.01
|131,992 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Jingpo people|Jingpo]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| 101852 		||
| 57762 ||
|100,180 ||0.01
|119,276 ||0.01
|132,143 ||0.01
|147,828 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Maonan people|Maonan]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tai-Kadai]]
| ||
|22382 	 ||
|37,450 ||0.00
|72,370 ||0.01
|107,106 ||0.01
|101,192 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Salar people|Salar]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
|30658 ||
| 69135||
|68,030 ||0.01
|82,398 ||0.01
|104,503 ||0.01
|130,607 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Blang people|Blang]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer]]
|  		||
| 39411 	 ||
|  58473 	 || –
|87,546 ||0.01
|91,882 ||0.01
|119,639 ||0.01
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Tajiks in China|Tajik]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
|14462 	 	 ||
| 16236||
|27,430 ||0.00
|33,223 ||0.00
|41,028 ||0.00
|51,069 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Achang people|Achang]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
|12032 	 ||
|31,490 ||0.00
|27,718 ||0.00
|33,936 ||0.00
|39,555 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Pumi people|Pumi]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
| 14298 	||
|18,860 ||0.00
|29,721 ||0.00
|33,600 ||0.00
|42,861 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Evenks|Ewenki]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]
|4957 		 ||
|9681  ||
|19,440 ||0.00
|26,379 ||0.00
|30,505 ||0.00
|30,875 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Nu people|Nu]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
| 15047 	||
|25,980 ||0.00
|27,190 ||0.00
|28,759 ||0.00
|37,523 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Gin people|Gin (Vietnamese)]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer]]
| ||
| ||
|12,140 ||0.00
|18,749 ||0.00
|22,517 ||0.00
|28,199 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Jino people|Jino]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
| ||
|11,260 ||0.00
|18,022 ||0.00
|20,899 ||0.00
|23,143 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Palaung people|De'ang]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer]]
| ||
| ||
| – || –
|15,461 ||0.00
|17,935 ||0.00
|20,556 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Bonan people|Bonan]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
| 4957 		||
|5125  ||
|6,620 ||0.00
|11,683 ||0.00
|16,505 ||0.00
|20,074 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Russians in China|Russian]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
|22656 	 	 ||
|1326 ||
|2,830 ||0.00
|13,500 ||0.00
|15,609 ||0.00
|15,393 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Yugur people|Yugur]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
|3861 		 ||
|5717  ||
|7,670 ||0.00
|12,293 ||0.00
|13,719 ||0.00
|14,378 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
|13626 		 ||
| 7717 ||
|13,810 ||0.00
|14,763 ||0.00
|13,370 ||0.00
|10,569 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Monpa people|Monba]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
|3809 	 ||
|1,040||0.00
|7,498||0.00
|8,923||0.00
|10,561||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Oroqen people|Oroqen]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]
| 2262 ||
| 	2709||
|2,280 ||0.00
|7,004 ||0.00
|8,196 ||0.00
|8,659 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Derung people|Derung]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
| ||
|4,250 ||0.00
|5,825 ||0.00
|7,426 ||0.00
|6,930 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Chinese Tatars]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
|6929 	 ||
|	2294  ||
|7,510 ||0.00
|5,064 ||0.00
|4,890 ||0.00
|3,556 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Nanai people|Hezhen]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]
| ||
| 718 	||
|670 ||0.00
|4,254 ||0.00
|4,640 ||0.00
|5,354 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Lhoba people|Lhoba]] || style="text-align:left;"| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| ||
| ||
|1,030 ||0.00
|2,322 ||0.00
|2,965 ||0.00
|3,682 ||0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Unrecognized ethnic groups in China|Unrecognized]]
|
| ||
| ||
|3,370,880 ||0.33
|3,498 ||0.00
|734,379 ||0.06
|640,101 ||0.05
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Unknown
|
| ||
| ||
|4,720||0.00
|752,347 ||0.07
| – || –
| – || –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Nationality law of the People's Republic of China|Naturalized]]
|
| ||
| ||
| – || –
| – || –
|941||0.00
|1,448 ||0.00
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! style="text-align:left;" colspan="2"| Total China
! colspan="2" | 582,603,417
! colspan="2" | 694,581,759
! colspan="2" | 1,008,175,288
! colspan="2" | 1,133,682,501
! colspan="2" | 1,242,612,226
! colspan="2" | 1,332,810,869
! colspan="2" | 1,411,778,724
|}

Neither [[Hong Kong]] nor [[Macau]] recognizes the official ethnic classifications maintained by the central government. In Macau, the largest substantial ethnic groups of non-Chinese descent are the [[Macanese people|Macanese]], of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent ([[Eurasia]]ns), as well as migrants from the [[Philippines]] and [[Thailand]]. Overseas Filipinos (overwhelmingly female) working as domestic workers comprise the largest non-Han Chinese ethnic group in Hong Kong.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

===People from other immigration jurisdictions===
The 2020 Census counted 371,380 residents from Hong Kong, 55,732 residents from [[Macau]], 157,886 residents from [[Taiwan]], and 845,697 residents from other locations, totaling 1,430,695 residents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722638.htm |title=Major Figures on Residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and Foreigners Covered by 2010 Population Census |website=Stats.gov.cn |access-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514214156/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722638.htm |archive-date=14 May 2011 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=在国内的外国人中，哪个国家的人最多？_越南_缅甸_日本 |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/www.sohu.com/a/590188122_120884220 |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=www.sohu.com}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Nationality !! Residents
|-
| [[Myanmar]]|| 351,248
|-
| [[Vietnam]]|| 79,212
|-
|[[South Korea]]
|59,242
|-
| [[United States]]|| 55,226
|-
| [[Japan]]|| 36,838
|-
| [[Canada]] || 21,309
|-
| [[Australia]]|| 13,777
|-
| [[Russia]]|| 12,513
|-
| [[United Kingdom]] || 11,236
|-
| [[Nigeria]]|| 10,654
|-
| Other countries || 234,600
|-
|'''''TOTAL'''''
|''845,697''
|}

== Religions ==
{{Main|Religion in China}}
{{Further|Religion in Hong Kong|Religion in Macau}}

{{multiple image
|perrow=2
|total_width=650
|header = Mapping of religions in China and Taiwan
|image1 = Chinese ancestor-gods belief by province of China (Chinese Spiritual Life Survey 2010).png
|caption1 = [[Chinese ancestorism]]<ref name="Wang2015" />{{NoteTag|Chinese ancestral or lineage religion is the worship of kin's ancestor-gods in the system of [[Chinese lineage associations|lineage churches]] and [[ancestral shrine]]s. It is worthwhile to note that this does not include other forms of Chinese religion, such as the worship of national ancestral gods or the gods of nature (which in northern China is more common than ancestor worship), and Taoism and Confucianism.}}
|image2 = Folk religious sects' influence by province of China (alternate).png
|caption2 = [[Chinese salvationist religions]], [[Confucian churches]] and ''jiaohua'' movements{{NoteTag|The map represents the geographic diffusion of the tradition of folk religious movements of salvation, Confucian churches and ''jiaohua'' ("transformative teachings") movements, based on historical data and contemporary fieldwork. Due to incomplete data and ambiguous identity of many of these traditions the map may not be completely accurate. Sources include a [https://worldmap.harvard.edu/data/geonode:wrd_province_religion_qg0 ''World Religion Map''] from Harvard University, based on data from the World Religion Database, showing highly unprecise ranges of Chinese folk (salvationist) religions' membership by province. Another source, the studies of China's [[Regional Religious System]], find "very high activity of popular religion and secret societies and low Buddhist presence in northern regions, while very high Buddhist presence in the southeast".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Jiang |last2=Tong |first2=Daoqin |title=Spatial Analysis and GIS Modeling of Regional Religious Systems in China |publisher=University of Arizona |url=http://chinadatacenter.org/Files/201203201336113771.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427135907/http://chinadatacenter.org/Files/201203201336113771.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

{{NoteTag|Historical record and contemporary scholarly fieldwork testify certain central and northern provinces of China as hotbeds of folk religious sects and Confucian religious groups. }}
* [[Hebei]]: Fieldwork by Thomas David Dubois{{sfnb|Dubois|2005}} testifies the dominance of folk religious movements, specifically the Church of the Heaven and the Earth and the [[Church of the Highest Supreme]], since their "energetic revival since the 1970s" (p.&nbsp;13), in the religious life of the counties of Hebei. Religious life in rural Hebei is also characterised by a type of organisation called the [[associations of good-doing|benevolent churches]] and the salvationist movement known as [[Zailiism]] has returned active since the 1990s.
* [[Henan]]: According to Heberer and Jakobi (2000)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Heberer |first1=Thomas |last2=Jakobi |first2=Sabine |title=Henan - The Model: From Hegemonism to Fragmentism. Portrait of the Political Culture of China's Most Populated Province |series=Duisburg Working Papers on East Asian Studies |number=32 |year=2000 |url=https://www.uni-due.de/oapol/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Heberer-Jakobi_Henan-The-Model1.pdf |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119201349/https://www.uni-due.de/oapol/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Heberer-Jakobi_Henan-The-Model1.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Henan has been for centuries a hub of folk religious sects (p.&nbsp;7) that constitute significant focuses of the religious life of the province. Sects present in the region include the [[Baguadao]] or Tianli ("Order of Heaven") sect, the Dadaohui, the [[Tianxianmiaodao]], the [[Yiguandao]], and many others. Henan also has a strong popular Confucian orientation (p. 5).
* [[Northeast China]]: According to official records by the then-government, the [[Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue]] or Morality Society had 8 million members in [[Manchuria]], or northeast China in the 1930s, making up about 25% of the total population of the area (note that the state of Manchuria also included the eastern end of modern-day Inner Mongolia).{{sfnb|Ownby|2008}} Folk religious movements of a Confucian nature, or Confucian churches, were in fact very successful in the northeast.
* [[Shandong]]: The province is traditionally a stronghold of Confucianism and is the area of origin of many folk religious sects and Confucian churches of the modern period, including the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue, the [[Guiyidao|Way of the Return to the One]] (皈依道 ''Guīyīdào''), the [[Yiguandao|Way of Unity]] (一貫道 ''Yīguàndào''), and others. Alex Payette (2016) testifies the rapid growth of Confucian groups in the province in the 2010s.{{sfnb|Payette|2016}}

According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2012,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lu 卢 |first=Yunfeng 云峰 |title=卢云峰：当代中国宗教状况报告——基于CFPS（2012）调查数据 |trans-title=Report on Religions in Contemporary China – Based on CFPS (2012) Survey Data |journal=World Religious Cultures |year=2014 |number=1 |url=http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809051625/http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2014 |page=13 |access-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=dead}} The report compares the data of the [[China Family Panel Studies]] 2012 with those of the Renmin University's Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) of the years 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011.</ref> about 2.2% of the total population of China (around 30 million people) claims membership in the folk religious sects, which have likely maintained their historical dominance in central-northern and northeastern China.}}
|image3=Taoist Church influence in China (alternate).png
|caption3=[[Taoism]]<ref>{{cite map |map=Taoism in China |map-url=http://previews.figshare.com/1117823/preview_1117823.jpg |title=Taoism's incidence by province of China |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427135809/http://previews.figshare.com/1117823/preview_1117823.jpg |archive-date=27 April 2017}} The map illustrates local religion led by Taoist specialists, forms and institutions.</ref>
|image4=Buddhism in China (China Family Panel Studies 2012).png|caption4=[[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhism]]<ref name="Gai-Gao" />
|image5=Christianity in China (China Family Panel Studies 2012).png|caption5=[[Christianity in China|Christianity]]<ref name="Gai-Gao" />
|image6 = Islam in China, with 0.2 (Yang Zongde 2010).png|caption6=[[Islam in China|Islam]]<ref name=2010-Islam/>
}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Religions in each province, major city and autonomous region of China, according to the latest available data{{NoteTag|The statistics for Chinese ancestorism, that is the worship of ancestor-gods within the lineage system, are from the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey of 2010.<ref name=Wang2015/> The statistics for Buddhism and Christianity are from the China Family Panel Studies survey of 2012.<ref name=Gai-Gao/> The statistics for Islam are from a survey conducted in 2010.<ref name=2010-Islam/> It is worthwhile to note that the populations of Chinese ancestorism and Buddhism may overlap, even with the large remaining parts of the population whose belief is not documented in the table. The latter, the uncharted population, may practise other forms of Chinese religion, such as the worship of gods, Taoism, Confucianism and folk salvationisms, or may be atheist. Indeed, according to the CFPS 2012, only 6.3% of the Chinese were irreligious in the sense of "atheism", while the rest practised the worship of gods and ancestors.<ref name=CFPS2012>[[China Family Panel Studies]] 2012. Reported and compared with Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011 in {{cite journal |last=Lu 卢 |first=Yunfeng 云峰 |title=卢云峰：当代中国宗教状况报告——基于CFPS（2012）调查数据 |trans-title=Report on Religions in Contemporary China – Based on CFPS (2012) Survey Data |journal=World Religious Cultures |year=2014 |number=1 |url=http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809051625/http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2014 |access-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|13}}}}
|-
! Province
! [[Chinese ancestorism|Chinese<br>ancestorism]]<ref name=Wang2015>Data from the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey (CSLS) 2010 for Chinese ancestorists, and from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2009 for Christians. Reported in {{cite news |last=Wang |first=Xiuhua |title=Explaining Christianity in China: Why a Foreign Religion has Taken Root in Unfertile Ground |year=2015 |publisher=Baylor University |url=https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/baylor-ir/bitstream/handle/2104/9326/WANG-THESIS-2015.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925123928/https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/baylor-ir/bitstream/handle/2104/9326/WANG-THESIS-2015.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |page=15 |access-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
! [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhism]]<ref name=Gai-Gao>Data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2012. Reported in {{cite journal |last1=Gai |first1=Rong Hua |last2=Gao |first2=Jun Hui |title=Multiple-Perspective Analysis on the Geological Distribution of Christians in China |journal=PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=809–817 |date=22 December 2016 |issn=2454-5899 |doi=10.20319/pijss.2016.s21.809817 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
! [[Christianity in China|Christianity]]<ref name=Gai-Gao/>
! [[Islam in China|Islam]]<ref name=2010-Islam>Data from {{cite journal |last=Yang |first=Zongde |title=Study on Current Muslim Population in China |journal=Jinan Muslim |number=2 |year=2010 |url=https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427140204/https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2017}} Reported in {{cite journal |last=Min |first=Junqing |title=The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China |journal=JISMOR |number=8 |year=2013 |url=https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624151446/https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |archive-date=24 June 2017}} p. 29.</ref>
|-
| [[Fujian]]
| {{percentage bar|31.31}}
| {{percentage bar|40.40}}
| {{percentage bar|3.97}}
| {{percentage bar|0.32}}
|-
| [[Zhejiang]]
| {{percentage bar|23.02}}
| {{percentage bar|23.99}}
| {{percentage bar|3.89}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Qinghai]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|0.76}}<ref name=Wang2015/>
| {{percentage bar|17.51}}
|-
| [[Guangdong]]
| {{percentage bar|43.71}}
| {{percentage bar|5.18}}
| {{percentage bar|0.68}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Yunnan]]
| {{percentage bar|32.22}}
| {{percentage bar|13.06}}
| {{percentage bar|0.68}}
| {{percentage bar|1.52}}
|-
| [[Guizhou]]
| {{percentage bar|31.18}}
| {{percentage bar|1.86}}
| {{percentage bar|0.49}}
| {{percentage bar|0.48}}
|-
| [[Jiangsu]]
| {{percentage bar|16.67}}
| {{percentage bar|14.17}}
| {{percentage bar|2.67}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Jiangxi]]
| {{percentage bar|24.05}}
| {{percentage bar|7.96}}
| {{percentage bar|0.66}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Shandong]]
| {{percentage bar|25.28}}
| {{percentage bar|2.90}}
| {{percentage bar|1.54}}
| {{percentage bar|0.55}}
|-
| [[Chongqing]]
| {{percentage bar|26.63}}
| {{percentage bar|0.85}}
| {{percentage bar|0.28}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Hunan]]
| {{percentage bar|20.19}}
| {{percentage bar|2.44}}
| {{percentage bar|0.49}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Shanxi]]
| {{percentage bar|15.61}}
| {{percentage bar|3.65}}
| {{percentage bar|1.55}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Henan]]
| {{percentage bar|7.94}}
| {{percentage bar|5.52}}
| {{percentage bar|4.95}}
| {{percentage bar|1.05}}
|-
| [[Jilin]]
| {{percentage bar|7.73}}
| {{percentage bar|8.23}}
| {{percentage bar|3.26}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Anhui]]
| {{percentage bar|4.64}}
| {{percentage bar|7.83}}
| {{percentage bar|4.32}}
| {{percentage bar|0.58}}
|-
| [[Gansu]]
| {{percentage bar|3.51}}
| {{percentage bar|6.85}}
| {{percentage bar|0.28}}
| {{percentage bar|6.64}}
|-
| [[Heilongjiang]]
| {{percentage bar|7.73}}
| {{percentage bar|4.39}}
| {{percentage bar|3.63}}
| {{percentage bar|0.35}}
|-
| [[Shaanxi]]
| {{percentage bar|7.58}}
| {{percentage bar|6.35}}
| {{percentage bar|1.66}}
| {{percentage bar|0.4}}
|-
| [[Liaoning]]
| {{percentage bar|7.73}}
| {{percentage bar|5.31}}
| {{percentage bar|1.99}}
| {{percentage bar|0.64}}
|-
| [[Sichuan]]
| {{percentage bar|10.6}}
| {{percentage bar|2.06}}
| {{percentage bar|0.30}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Hubei]]
| {{percentage bar|6.5}}
| {{percentage bar|2.09}}
| {{percentage bar|1.71}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Hebei]]
| {{percentage bar|5.52}}
| {{percentage bar|1.59}}
| {{percentage bar|1.13}}
| {{percentage bar|0.82}}
|-
| [[Hainan]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|0.48}}<ref name=Wang2015/>
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
! colspan=5 |
|-
| [[Beijing]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|11.2}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Lai |first=Hongyi |title=China's Governance Model: Flexibility and Durability of Pragmatic Authoritarianism |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1317859529}} p. 167.</ref>
| {{percentage bar|0.78}}<ref name=Wang2015/>
| {{percentage bar|1.76}}
|-
| [[Shanghai]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|10.30}}
| {{percentage bar|1.88}}
| {{percentage bar|0.36}}
|-
| [[Tianjin]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|0.43}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
! colspan=5 |
|-
| [[Tibet]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|78|~78%}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Internazional Religious Freedom Report 2012 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf |publisher=US Government |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=28 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328164846/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf |url-status=live}} p. 20, quoting: "Most ethnic Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, although a sizeable minority practices Bon, an indigenous religion, and very small minorities practice Islam, Catholicism, or Protestantism. Some scholars estimate that there are as many as 400,000 Bon followers across the Tibetan Plateau. Scholars also estimate that there are up to 5,000 ethnic Tibetan Muslims and 700 ethnic Tibetan Catholics in the TAR".</ref>
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|0.39}}
|-
| [[Xinjiang]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|1.0}}<ref name=Wang2015/>
| {{percentage bar|57.99}}
|-
| [[Guangxi]]
| {{percentage bar|40.48}}
| {{percentage bar|10.23}}
| {{percentage bar|0.15}}
| {{percentage bar|0.2|<0.2%}}
|-
| [[Ningxia]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{percentage bar|1.17}}<ref name=Wang2015/>
| {{percentage bar|33.99}}
|-
| [[Inner Mongolia]]
| {{percentage bar|2.36}}
| {{percentage bar|12.1}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Jiayu |last2=Fang |first2=Yong |title=Study on the Protection of the Lama Temple Heritage in Inner Mongolia as a Cultural Landscape |journal=Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering |volume=15 |pages=9–16 |issue=1 |date=January 2016 |doi=10.3130/jaabe.15.9 |doi-access=free}} Note that the article, in an evident mistranslation from Chinese, reports 30 million Tibetan Buddhists in Inner Mongolia instead of 3 million.</ref>
| {{percentage bar|2.0}}<ref name=Wang2015/>
| {{percentage bar|0.91}}
|-
! [[China]]
! {{percentage bar|16}}<ref name=CSLS2010>2010 Chinese Spiritual Life Survey, Purdue University's Center on Religion and Chinese Society. Data reported in {{cite journal |last1=Wenzel-Teuber |first1=Katharina |last2=Strait |first2=David |title=People's Republic of China: Religions and Churches Statistical Overview 2011 |journal=Religions & Christianity in Today's China |volume=II |number=3 |year=2012 |pages=29–54 |issn=2192-9289 |url=http://www.china-zentrum.de/fileadmin/downloads/rctc/2012-3/RCTC_2012-3.29-54_Wenzel-Teuber_Statistical_Overview_2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427151725/http://www.china-zentrum.de/fileadmin/downloads/rctc/2012-3/RCTC_2012-3.29-54_Wenzel-Teuber_Statistical_Overview_2011.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>
! {{percentage bar|15}}<ref name=CFPS2014>For [[China Family Panel Studies]] 2014 survey results see [http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/orj360/b8bd941fjw1fau6hf2hv4j20jg09rwff.jpg release #1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427133123/http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/orj360/b8bd941fjw1fau6hf2hv4j20jg09rwff.jpg |date=27 April 2017 }} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170225053713/http://image101.360doc.com/DownloadImg/2016/12/0603/86161911_1 archived]) and [http://www.isss.edu.cn/cfps/EN/enNews/CFPSNews/2016news/2016-12-30/307.html release #2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225211353/http://www.isss.edu.cn/cfps/EN/enNews/CFPSNews/2016news/2016-12-30/307.html |date=25 February 2017 }}(). The tables also contain the results of CFPS 2012 (sample 20,035) and Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) results for 2006, 2008 and 2010 (samples ~10.000/11,000). Also see, for comparison CFPS 2012 data in {{cite journal |last=Lu 卢 |first=Yunfeng 云峰 |title=卢云峰：当代中国宗教状况报告——基于CFPS（2012）调查数据 |trans-title=Report on Religions in Contemporary China – Based on CFPS (2012) Survey Data |journal=World Religious Cultures |year=2014 |number=1 |url=http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809051625/http://iwr.cass.cn/zjwh/201403/W020140303370398758556.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2014 |access-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=dead}} p. 13, reporting the results of the CGSS 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011, and their average (fifth column of the first table).</ref><ref name=CZ20172>{{cite journal |last=Wenzel-Teuber |first=Katharina |title=Statistics on Religions and Churches in the People's Republic of China – Update for the Year 2016 |journal=Religions & Christianity in Today's China |volume=VII |number=2 |pages=26–53 |url=http://www.china-zentrum.de/fileadmin/downloads/rctc/2017-2/RCTC_2017-2.26-53_Wenzel-Teuber__Statistics_on_Religions_and_Churches_in_the_PRC_%E2%80%93_Update_for_the_Year_2016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722112103/http://www.china-zentrum.de/fileadmin/downloads/rctc/2017-2/RCTC_2017-2.26-53_Wenzel-Teuber__Statistics_on_Religions_and_Churches_in_the_PRC_%E2%80%93_Update_for_the_Year_2016.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2017}}</ref>
! {{percentage bar|2.5}}<ref name=CFPS2014/><ref name=CZ20172/>
! {{percentage bar|2}}<ref name=CFPS2012/>{{rp|13}}
|}
{{Religion in China surveys}}

==Migration==
{{Main|Migration in China|Chinese emigration}}
[[Internal migration]] in the People's Republic of China is one of the most extensive in the world according to the [[International Labour Organization]].<ref name="Labour migration">{{Cite web |title=Labour migration |work=International Labour Organization |access-date=2013-10-20 |url=http://www.ilo.org/beijing/areas-of-work/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514041951/http://www.ilo.org/beijing/areas-of-work/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In fact, research done by Kam Wing Chan of the [[University of Washington]] suggests that "In the 30 years since 1979, China's urban population has grown by about 440 million to 622&nbsp;million in 2009. Of the 440&nbsp;million increase, about 340&nbsp;million was attributable to net migration and urban reclassification. Even if only half of that increase was migration, the volume of rural-urban migration in such a short period is likely the largest in human history."<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |pages=1–46 |editor=Immanuel Ness |last=Chan |first=Kam Wing |author2=Peter Bellwood |title=The Encyclopedia of Global Migration |chapter=China, Internal Migration |access-date=2013-10-20 |year=2011 |chapter-url=http://faculty.washington.edu/kwchan/Chan-migration.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083422/http://faculty.washington.edu/kwchan/Chan-migration.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>  Migrants in China are commonly members of a [[floating population]], which refers primarily to migrants in China without local household registration status through the Chinese [[Hukou system]].<ref name="Liang 2004 467–488">{{Cite journal |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=467–488 |last=Liang |first=Zai |author2=Zhongdong Ma |title=China's floating population: new evidence from the 2000 census |journal=Population and Development Review |year=2004 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.00024.x}}</ref> In general, rural-urban migrant workers are most excluded from local educational resources, citywide social welfare programs and many jobs because of their lack of hukou status.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chan |first=Kam Wing |author2=Li Zhang |s2cid=38684915 |title=The Hukou System and Rural-Urban Migration in China: Processes and Changes |journal=The China Quarterly |year=1999 |volume=160 |issue=160 |pages=818–855 |doi=10.1017/s0305741000001351 |pmid=20101805}}</ref>

In 2011 a total of 252.78&nbsp;million [[migrant worker]]s (an increase of 4.4% compared to 2010) existed in China. Out of these, migrant workers who left their hometown and worked in other provinces accounted for 158.63&nbsp;million (an increase of 3.4% compared to 2010) and migrant workers who worked within their home provinces reached 94.15&nbsp;million (an increase of 5.9% compared to 2010).<ref name=statistics>{{cite web |publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China |date=2012 |title=Statistical Communiqué on the 2011 National Economic and Social Development |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/was40/gjtjj_en_detail.jsp?searchword=migrants&channelid=9528&record=3 |access-date=6 August 2012 |quotation=beneath figure 3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021011943/http://www.stats.gov.cn/was40/gjtjj_en_detail.jsp?searchword=migrants&channelid=9528&record=3 |archive-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Estimations are that Chinese cities will face an influx of another 243 million migrants by 2025, taking the urban population up to nearly 1 billion people.<ref name= "WSJ" >{{Cite news |issn=0307-1766 |last=Shanghai |first=Geoff Dyer in |title=China braced for wave of urban migrants |work=Financial Times |access-date=2013-11-15 |date=23 March 2008 |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c11a84ca-f902-11dc-bcf3-000077b07658.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c11a84ca-f902-11dc-bcf3-000077b07658.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> This population of migrants would represent "almost 40 percent of the total urban population," a number which is almost three times the current level.<ref name="WSJ" /><ref>{{Citation |publisher=McKinsey Global Institute |last=Woetzel |first=Jonathan |author2=Lenny Mendonca |author3=Janamitra Devan |author4=Stefano Negri |author5=Yangmei Hu |author6=Luke Jordan |author7=Xiujun Li |author8=Alexander Maasry |author9=Geoff Tsen |author10=Flora Yu |title=Preparing for China's urban billion |date=March 2009 |url=http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/preparing_for_urban_billion_in_china |access-date=21 September 2015 |archive-date=5 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005035039/http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/preparing_for_urban_billion_in_china |url-status=dead}}</ref> While it is often difficult to collect accurate statistical data on migrant floating populations, the number of migrants is undoubtedly quite large. "In China's largest cities, for instance, it is often quoted that at least one out of every five persons is a migrant."<ref>{{Cite journal |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=276–280 |last=Wang |first=Feng |author2=Xuejin Zuo |title=Inside China's Cities: Institutional Barriers and Opportunities for Urban Migrants |journal=The American Economic Review |date=May 1999 |jstor=117120 |doi=10.1257/aer.89.2.276}}</ref> China's government influences the pattern of urbanization through the [[Hukou system|Hukou]] permanent residence registration system, land-sale policies, infrastructure investment and the incentives offered to local government officials. The other factors influencing migration of people from rural provincial areas to large cities are employment, education, business opportunities and higher standard of living.<ref>Griffiths, Michael. B. (2010) 'Lamb Buddha's Migrant Workers: Self-assertion on China's Urban Fringe'. ''Journal of Current Chinese Affairs'' (China Aktuell), 39, 2, 3–37.</ref>

The mass emigration known as the Chinese diaspora,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goodkind |first1=Daniel |title=The Chinese Diaspora: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Trends |url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2019/demo/Chinese_Diaspora.pdf |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=31 August 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220152138/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2019/demo/Chinese_Diaspora.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> which occurred from the 19th century to 1949, was mainly caused by wars and starvation in [[mainland China]], invasion from various foreign countries, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption. Most immigrants were illiterate peasants and manual labourers, called "[[coolies]]" by analogy to the same pattern of immigration from India, who emigrated to work in countries such as the Americas, Australia, South Africa and Southeast Asia.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

==See also==
{{Portal|China}}
*[[Megalopolises in China]]
*[[List of cities in China by population|Metropolitan cities of China]]
*[[Demographics of Central Asia]]
*[[Demographics of Beijing]]
* [[Population history of China]]
*[[Language Atlas of China]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{Library resources box}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{Country study |article = A Country Study: China |url = http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cntoc.html }}
* {{CIA World Factbook}}
* {{cite book |last=Dubois |first=Thomas David |year=2005 |title=The Sacred Village: Social Change and Religious Life in Rural North China |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |url=http://www.bniao.org/Asset/Source/bnBook_ID-1637_No-01.pdf |isbn=0824828372 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214212228/http://www.bniao.org/Asset/Source/bnBook_ID-1637_No-01.pdf |archive-date=14 February 2016}}
* {{cite journal |last=Ownby |first=David |title=Sect and Secularism in Reading the Modern Chinese Religious Experience |journal=[[Archives de sciences sociales des religions]] |volume=144 |date=2008 |doi=10.4000/assr.17633 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Payette |first=Alex |title=Local Confucian Revival in China: Ritual Teachings, 'Confucian' Learning and Cultural Resistance in Shandong |journal=China Report |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |date=February 2016 |url=http://chr.sagepub.com/content/52/1/1.abstract |doi=10.1177/0009445515613867 |s2cid=147263039}}
{{refend}}

{{Clear}}
{{Ethnic groups in China}}
{{Health in China}}
{{Asia topic|Demographics of}}
{{China topics|state=autocollapse}}
{{Economy of China}}
{{Family planning policies of China}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demographics Of China}}
[[Category:Demographics of China| ]]