PRC National Bureau of Statistics, Major Findings of the 2010 China Census, April 28, 2011

Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census [1] (No 1)
National Bureau of Statistics of China?
April 28, 2011

In accordance with the Regulations on National Population Census and the Circular of the State Council on the Conduct of the 6th National Population Census, China carried out its 6th national population census with zero hour of Nov 1, 2010 as the reference time[2]. The field enumeration of the census has been successfully completed through the leadership of the State Council and governments at all levels, the support and cooperation from people of various nationalities, and the painstaking efforts and hard work of nearly 10 million census workers. Results on major figures obtained through advance tabulation are released as follows:

I. Total Population

Total population of China was 1,370,536,875 persons. Of which:

The population of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and of servicemen on the mainland of China through census enumeration[3] was 1,339,724,852 persons.

The population of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region[4] was 7,097,600 persons.

The population of Macao Special Administrative Region [5] was 552,300 persons.

The population of Taiwan [6] was 23,162,123 persons.

II. Population Growth

Compared with the population of 1,265,825,048 from the 2000 population census (zero hour of Nov 1, 2000), the total population of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and the servicemen of the mainland of China increased by 73,899,804 persons, or 5.84 percent over the past 10 years. The average annual growth rate was 0.57 percent.

III. Population of Family Households

In the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of the mainland of China, there were 401,517,330 family households[7] with a population of 1,244,608,395 persons. The average size of family household was 3.10 persons, or 0.34 person less as compared with the 3.44 persons in the 2000 population census.

IV. Sex Composition

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 686,852,572 persons or 51.27 percent were males, while 652,872,280 persons or 48.73 percent were females. The sex ratio (female=100) declined from 106.74 to 105.20.

V. Age Composition

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 222,459,737 persons were in the age group of 0-14, accounting for 16.60 percent of the total population; 939,616,410 persons in the age group of 15-59, accounting for 70.14 percent, and 177,648,705 persons in the age group of 60 and over, accounting for 13.26 percent, of which 118,831,709 persons were in the age group of 65 and over, accounting for 8.87 percent. As compared with the results of the 2000 population census, the share of people in the age group of 0-14 was down by 6.29 percentage points, that of the age group of 15-59 was up by 3.36 percentage points, that of the age group of 60 and over was up by 2.93 percentage points, and that of the age group of 65 and over was up by 1.91 percentage points.

VI. Composition of Nationalities

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 1,225,932,641 persons or 91.51 percent were of Han nationality, and 11,3792,211 persons or 8.49 percent were of various national minorities. Compared with the 2000 population census, the population of Han nationality increased by 66,537,177 persons, or 5.74 percent; while the population of various national minorities increased by 7,362,627 persons, or 6.92 percent.

VII. Composition of Educational Attainment

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 119,636,790 persons had finished university education (referring to junior college and above); 187,985,979 persons had received senior secondary education (including secondary technical school education); 519,656,445 persons had received junior secondary education and 358,764,003 persons had primary education (the persons with various educational attainment included graduates and students in schools).

Compared with the 2000 population census, following changes had taken place in the number of people with various educational attainments of every 100,000 people: number of people with university education increased from 3,611 to 8,930; number of people with senior secondary education increased from 11,146 to 14,032; number of people with junior secondary education increased from 3,3961 to 38,788; and number of people with primary education decreased from 35,701 to 26,779.

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 54656573 persons were illiterate (i.e. people over 15 years of age who can not read). Compared with the 2000 population census, the size of illiterate population dropped by 30,413,094 persons, and the illiterate rate[8] declined from 6.72 percent to 4.08 percent, or down by 2.64 percentage points.

VIII. Urban and Rural Population

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 665,575,306 persons were urban residents[9], accounting for 49.68 percent; and 674,149,546 persons were rural residents, accounting for 50.32 percent. Compared with the 2000 population census, the number of urban residents increased by 207,137,093 persons, and the number of rural residents dropped by 133,237,289 persons. The proportion of urban residents rose by 13.46 percentage points.

IX. Migration of Population

Of the population enumerated in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen of the mainland of China, 261,386,075 persons lived in places other than the towns (townships or streets) of their household registration where they had left for over 6 months. Of this total, 39,959,423 were persons with current residence different from the place of their household registration in the same city[10], and the remaining were 221,426,652 persons. Compared with the 2000 population census, population in this category increased by 116,995,327 persons, or up by 81.03 percent.

X. Error of Enumeration

After field enumeration, a total of 402 enumeration blocks were randomly selected to conduct post-enumeration survey, resulting in a population undercount rate of 0.12 percent.

Notes:

1. All figures in the Communiqué are preliminary results.

2. The population census covers all natural persons residing in the territory of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese citizens residing outside but not permanently settled down in locations beyond the territory of the People’s Republic of China at the census reference time, excluding residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and foreigners temporarily staying in the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Territory here refers to the territory of the customs.

3. The population of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen on the mainland of China does not include residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and foreigners staying in the territory of the People’s Republic of China at the time of the census.

4. Population of Hong Kong SAR refers to data at the end of 2010 provided by Hong Kong SAR government.

5. Population of Macao SAR refers to data at the end of 2010 provided by Macao SAR government.

6. Population of Taiwan refers to population at the end of 2010 released by relevant authorities of Taiwan.

7. Population of family households refer to households consists of persons, bonded by family relations, staying under the same roof and sharing living arrangement.

8. Illiterate rate refers to the population over 15 years of age who can not read divided by the population of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and servicemen on the mainland of China.

9. Urban and rural population refer to population living in urban or rural areas within the territory of China, which are classified based on Regulation on Statistical Classification of Urban and Rural Areas issued by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2008.

10. Persons with current residence different from the place of their household registration in the same city refer to persons in a city whose current residence is one town or street when their household registration is in another town or street of the same municipality or prefecture-level city.

Click here for a listing of PRC-issued white papers on various topics.