China Population: Resided less than Half Year data was reported at 7.150 Person th in 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.208 Person th for 2007. China Population: Resided less than Half Year data is updated yearly, averaging 8.396 Person th from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2008, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,104.067 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 2.804 Person th in 1997. China Population: Resided less than Half Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey.

In 2024, about 60.9 percent of the Chinese population was between 16 and 59 years old. Apart from the information given on broad age groups in this statistic, some more information is provided by a timeline for the age distribution and a population breakdown by smaller age groups. Demographic development in China China ranked as the second most populous country in the world with a population of nearly 1.41 billion as of mid 2024, surpassed only by India. As the world population reached more than eight billion in mid 2024, China represented almost one fifth of the global population. China's population increased exponentially between the 1950s and the early 1980s due to Mao Zedong's population policy. To tackle the problem of overpopulation, a one-child policy was implemented in 1979. Since then, China's population growth has slowed from more than two percent per annum in the 1970s to around 0.5 percent per annum in the 2000s, and finally turned negative in 2022. China's aging population One outcome of the strict population policy is the acceleration of demographic aging trends. According to the United Nations, China's population median age has more than doubled over the last five decades, from 18 years in 1970 to 37.5 years in 2020. Few countries have aged faster than China. The dramatic aging of the population is matched by slower growth. The total fertility rate, measuring the number of children a woman can expect to have in her life, stood at just around 1.2 children. This incremental decline in labor force could lead to future challenges for the Chinese government, causing instability in current health care and social insurance mechanisms. To learn more about demographic development of the rural and urban population in China, please take a look at our reports on population in China and aging population in China.

The region of present-day China has historically been the most populous region in the world; however, its population development has fluctuated throughout history. In 2022, China was overtaken as the most populous country in the world, and current projections suggest its population is heading for a rapid decline in the coming decades. Transitions of power lead to mortality The source suggests that conflict, and the diseases brought with it, were the major obstacles to population growth throughout most of the Common Era, particularly during transitions of power between various dynasties and rulers. It estimates that the total population fell by approximately 30 million people during the 14th century due to the impact of Mongol invasions, which inflicted heavy losses on the northern population through conflict, enslavement, food instability, and the introduction of bubonic plague. Between 1850 and 1870, the total population fell once more, by more than 50 million people, through further conflict, famine and disease; the most notable of these was the Taiping Rebellion, although the Miao an Panthay Rebellions, and the Dungan Revolt, also had large death tolls. The third plague pandemic also originated in Yunnan in 1855, which killed approximately two million people in China. 20th and 21st centuries There were additional conflicts at the turn of the 20th century, which had significant geopolitical consequences for China, but did not result in the same high levels of mortality seen previously. It was not until the overlapping Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) and Second World War (1937-1945) where the death tolls reached approximately 10 and 20 million respectively. Additionally, as China attempted to industrialize during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), economic and agricultural mismanagement resulted in the deaths of tens of millions (possibly as many as 55 million) in less than four years, during the Great Chinese Famine. This mortality is not observable on the given dataset, due to the rapidity of China's demographic transition over the entire period; this saw improvements in healthcare, sanitation, and infrastructure result in sweeping changes across the population. The early 2020s marked some significant milestones in China's demographics, where it was overtaken by India as the world's most populous country, and its population also went into decline. Current projections suggest that China is heading for a "demographic disaster", as its rapidly aging population is placing significant burdens on China's economy, government, and society. In stark contrast to the restrictive "one-child policy" of the past, the government has introduced a series of pro-fertility incentives for couples to have larger families, although the impact of these policies are yet to materialize. If these current projections come true, then China's population may be around half its current size by the end of the century.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Hunan data was reported at 0.119 Person th in 2008. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.073 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Hunan data is updated yearly, averaging 0.198 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 222.147 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.052 Person th in 1997. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Hunan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

As of 2023, the bulk of the Chinese population was aged between 25 and 59 years, amounting to around half of the population. A breakdown of the population by broad age groups reveals that around 61.3 percent of the total population was in working age between 16 and 59 years in 2023. Age cohorts below 25 years were considerably smaller, although there was a slight growth trend in recent years. Population development in China Population development in China over the past decades has been strongly influenced by political and economic factors. After a time of high fertility rates during the Maoist regime, China introduced birth-control measures in the 1970s, including the so-called one-child policy. The fertility rate dropped accordingly from around six children per woman in the 1960s to below two at the end of the 20th century. At the same time, life expectancy increased consistently. In the face of a rapidly aging society, the government gradually lifted the one-child policy after 2012, finally arriving at a three-child policy in 2021. However, like in most other developed countries nowadays, people in China are reluctant to have more than one or two children due to high costs of living and education, as well as changed social norms and private values. China’s top-heavy age pyramid The above-mentioned developments are clearly reflected in the Chinese age pyramid. The age cohorts between 30 and 39 years are the last two larger age cohorts. The cohorts between 15 and 24, which now enter childbearing age, are decisively smaller, which will have a negative effect on the number of births in the coming decade. When looking at a gender distribution of the population pyramid, a considerable gender gap among the younger age cohorts becomes visible, leaving even less room for growth in birth figures.

According to latest figures, the Chinese population decreased by 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people in 2024. After decades of rapid growth, China arrived at the turning point of its demographic development in 2022, which was earlier than expected. The annual population decrease is estimated to remain at moderate levels until around 2030 but to accelerate thereafter. Population development in China China had for a long time been the country with the largest population worldwide, but according to UN estimates, it has been overtaken by India in 2023. As the population in India is still growing, the country is very likely to remain being home of the largest population on earth in the near future. Due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades, displaying an annual population growth rate of -0.1 percent in 2024. Nevertheless, compared to the world population in total, China held a share of about 17 percent of the overall global population in 2024. China's aging population In terms of demographic developments, the birth control efforts of the Chinese government had considerable effects on the demographic pyramid in China. Upon closer examination of the age distribution, a clear trend of an aging population becomes visible. In order to curb the negative effects of an aging population, the Chinese government abolished the one-child policy in 2015, which had been in effect since 1979, and introduced a three-child policy in May 2021. However, many Chinese parents nowadays are reluctant to have a second or third child, as is the case in most of the developed countries in the world. The number of births in China varied in the years following the abolishment of the one-child policy, but did not increase considerably. Among the reasons most prominent for parents not having more children are the rising living costs and costs for child care, growing work pressure, a growing trend towards self-realization and individualism, and changing social behaviors.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Xinjiang data was reported at 0.081 Person th in 2008. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.061 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Xinjiang data is updated yearly, averaging 0.086 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 162.584 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.061 Person th in 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Xinjiang data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

In 2024, the average number of children born per 1,000 people in China ranged at ****. The birth rate has dropped considerably since 2016, and the number of births fell below the number of deaths in 2022 for the first time in decades, leading to a negative population growth rate. Recent development of the birth rate Similar to most East-Asian countries and territories, demographics in China today are characterized by a very low fertility rate. As low fertility in the long-term limits economic growth and leads to heavy strains on the pension and health systems, the Chinese government decided to support childbirth by gradually relaxing strict birth control measures, that had been in place for three decades. However, the effect of this policy change was considerably smaller than expected. The birth rate increased from **** births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2010 to ***** births in 2012 and remained on a higher level for a couple of years, but then dropped again to a new low in 2018. This illustrates that other factors constrain the number of births today. These factors are most probably similar to those experienced in other developed countries as well: women preferring career opportunities over maternity, high costs for bringing up children, and changed social norms, to name only the most important ones. Future demographic prospects Between 2020 and 2023, the birth rate in China dropped to formerly unknown lows, most probably influenced by the coronavirus pandemic. As all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted by the end of 2022, births figures showed a catch-up effect in 2024. However, the scope of the rebound might be limited. A population breakdown by five-year age groups indicates that the drop in the number of births is also related to a shrinking number of people with child-bearing age. The age groups between 15 and 29 years today are considerably smaller than those between 30 and 44, leaving less space for the birth rate to increase. This effect is exacerbated by a considerable gender gap within younger age groups in China, with the number of females being much lower than that of males.

In 2024, around **** million babies were born in China. The number of births has increased slightly from **** million in the previous year, but is much lower than the ***** million births recorded in 2016. Demographic development in China In 2022, the Chinese population decreased for the first time in decades, and population decline is expected to accelerate in the upcoming years. To curb the negative effects of an aging population, the Chinese government decided in 2013 to gradually relax the so called one-child-policy, which had been in effect since 1979. From 2016 onwards, parents in China were allowed to have two children in general. However, as the recent figures of births per year reveal, this policy change had only short-term effects on the general birth rate: the number of births slightly increased from 2014 onwards, but then started to fell again in 2018. In 2024, China was the second most populous country in the world, overtaken by India that year. China’s aging population The Chinese society is aging rapidly and facing a serious demographic shift towards older age groups. The median age of China’s population has increased massively from about ** years in 1970 to **** years in 2020 and is projected to rise continuously until 2080. In 2020, approximately **** percent of the Chinese were 60 years and older, a figure that is forecast to rise as high as ** percent by 2060. This shift in demographic development will increase social and elderly support expenditure of the society as a whole. One measure for this social imbalance is the old-age dependency ratio, measuring the relationship between economic dependent older age groups and the working-age population. The old-age dependency ratio in China is expected to soar to ** percent in 2060, implying that by then three working-age persons will have to support two elderly persons.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Gansu data was reported at 0.047 Person th in 2008. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.028 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Gansu data is updated yearly, averaging 0.047 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 135.435 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.025 Person th in 1998. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Gansu data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Anhui data was reported at 0.152 Person th in 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.269 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Anhui data is updated yearly, averaging 0.157 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 143.677 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.057 Person th in 1999. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Anhui data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Fujian data was reported at 0.384 Person th in 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.440 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Fujian data is updated yearly, averaging 0.440 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 841.831 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.175 Person th in 1996. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Fujian data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Guangdong data was reported at 2.978 Person th in 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.677 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Guangdong data is updated yearly, averaging 1.287 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,228.068 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.210 Person th in 1997. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Guangdong data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Sichuan data was reported at 0.100 Person th in 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.322 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Sichuan data is updated yearly, averaging 0.322 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 572.135 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.100 Person th in 2008. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Sichuan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

In 2025, China reported adding ***million new users to its massive **** billion internet population. The first half-year data in 2024 revealed that nearly *****of the new internet users were between 10 and 18 years old, while a ***** were older adults aged above 50 years. The largest online community In 2024, China accounted for about ********* of the *** billion internet users worldwide. However, compared to its total population, China’s internet penetration rate is lower than in other Asian countries. Penetration rates in both South Korea and Japan were significantly higher. The market potential Internet usage in China is further characterized by a large regional discrepancy. In rural regions, the internet access rate is much lower than the national level. On the other side, the Chinese market is a mobile-first nation. Since 2014, more Chinese people have accessed the internet via mobile devices than computers. The number of mobile internet users in China increased steadily over the previous decade.

It has been shown that the human genome contains extensive copy number variations (CNVs). Investigating the medical and evolutionary impacts of CNVs requires the knowledge of locations, sizes and frequency distribution of them within and between populations. However, CNV study of Chinese minorities, which harbor the majority of genetic diversity of Chinese populations, has been underrepresented considering the same efforts in other populations. Here we constructed, to our knowledge, a first CNV map in seven Chinese populations representing the major linguistic groups in China with 1,440 CNV regions identified using Affymetrix SNP 6.0 Array. Considerable differences in distributions of CNV regions between populations and substantial population structures were observed. We showed that ∼35% of CNV regions identified in minority ethnic groups are not shared by Han Chinese population, indicating that the contribution of the minorities to genetic architecture of Chinese population could not be ignored. We further identified highly differentiated CNV regions between populations. For example, a common deletion in Dong and Zhuang (44.4% and 50%), which overlaps two keratin-associated protein genes contributing to the structure of hair fibers, was not observed in Han Chinese. Interestingly, the most differentiated CNV deletion between HapMap CEU and YRI containing CCL3L1 gene reported in previous studies was also the highest differentiated regions between Tibetan and other populations. Besides, by jointly analyzing CNVs and SNPs, we found a CNV region containing gene CTDSPL were in almost perfect linkage disequilibrium between flanking SNPs in Tibetan while not in other populations except HapMap CHD. Furthermore, we found the SNP taggability of CNVs in Chinese populations was much lower than that in European populations. Our results suggest the necessity of a full characterization of CNVs in Chinese populations, and the CNV map we constructed serves as a useful resource in further evolutionary and medical studies.

In 2024, there were around 719 million male inhabitants and 689 million female inhabitants living in China, amounting to around 1.41 billion people in total. China's total population decreased for the first time in decades in 2022, and population decline is expected to accelerate in the upcoming years. Birth control in China From the beginning of the 1970s on, having many children was no longer encouraged in mainland China. The one-child policy was then introduced in 1979 to control the total size of the Chinese population. According to the one-child policy, a married couple was only allowed to have one child. With the time, modifications were added to the policy, for example parents living in rural areas were allowed to have a second child if the first was a daughter, and most ethnic minorities were excepted from the policy. Population ageing The birth control led to a decreasing birth rate in China and a more skewed gender ratio of new births due to boy preference. Since the negative economic and social effects of an aging population were more and more felt in China, the one-child policy was considered an obstacle for the country’s further economic development. Since 2014, the one-child policy has been gradually relaxed and fully eliminated at the end of 2015. However, many young Chinese people are not willing to have more children due to high costs of raising a child, especially in urban areas.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 in early 2020 and the recurring epidemic in later years have disturbed China’s economy. Moreover, China’s demographic dividend has been disappearing due to its fastest aging population and declining birth rate. The birth rates in eastern provinces of China are much lower than those of the western provinces. Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 and aging population, this paper focused on the relationship between birth rate and the disposable income and tried to find effective measures to raise China’s birth rate. We discovered through regression analysis that the link between per capita disposable income and birth rate is initially "reverse J" and later "inverted J", indicating that per capita disposable income will influence the birth rate. Women’s employment rate and educational level are negatively correlated with the birth rate. To raise the fertility rate in China, it is necessary to increase the marriage rate and the willingness to have children by raising the per capita disposable income and introducing effective tax relief policies.

Population: Resided less than Half Year: Jiangxi data was reported at 0.077 Person th in 2008. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.118 Person th for 2007. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Jiangxi data is updated yearly, averaging 0.129 Person th from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 169.320 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 0.077 Person th in 2008. Population: Resided less than Half Year: Jiangxi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: By Region.

This is the first meta-analysis of the pooled prevalence of insomnia in the general population of China. A systematic literature search was conducted via the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Interne (CNKI), WanFang Data and SinoMed). Statistical analyses were performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program. A total of 17 studies with 115,988 participants met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. The pooled prevalence of insomnia in China was 15.0% (95% Confidence interval [CI]: 12.1%-18.5%). No significant difference was found in the prevalence between genders or across time period. The pooled prevalence of insomnia in population with a mean age of 43.7 years and older (11.6%; 95% CI: 7.5%-17.6%) was significantly lower than in those with a mean age younger than 43.7 years (20.4%; 95% CI: 14.2%-28.2%). The prevalence of insomnia was significantly affected by the type of assessment tools (Q = 14.1, P = 0.001). The general population prevalence of insomnia in China is lower than those reported in Western countries but similar to those in Asian countries. Younger Chinese adults appear to suffer from more insomnia than older adults.Trial Registration: CRD 42016043620