In 2024, approximately 67 percent of the total population in China lived in cities. The urbanization rate has increased steadily in China over the last decades. Degree of urbanization in China Urbanization is generally defined as a process of people migrating from rural to urban areas, during which towns and cities are formed and increase in size. Even though urbanization is not exclusively a modern phenomenon, industrialization and modernization did accelerate its progress. As shown in the statistic at hand, the degree of urbanization of China, the world's second-largest economy, rose from 36 percent in 2000 to around 51 percent in 2011. That year, the urban population surpassed the number of rural residents for the first time in the country's history.The urbanization rate varies greatly in different parts of China. While urbanization is lesser advanced in western or central China, in most coastal regions in eastern China more than two-thirds of the population lives already in cities. Among the ten largest Chinese cities in 2021, six were located in coastal regions in East and South China. Urbanization in international comparison Brazil and Russia, two other BRIC countries, display a much higher degree of urbanization than China. On the other hand, in India, the country with the worlds’ largest population, a mere 36.3 percent of the population lived in urban regions as of 2023. Similar to other parts of the world, the progress of urbanization in China is closely linked to modernization. From 2000 to 2024, the contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product in China shrank from 14.7 percent to 6.8 percent. Even more evident was the decrease of workforce in agriculture.

Until 2007, the share of the global population living in urban areas was always smaller than the rural population, but in 2021, the world's level of urbanization has risen to around 56 percent, and by 2050, it is estimated that two thirds of the world will live in urban areas. Urbanization on such a large scale is a relatively new phenomenon, and has a strong correlation with the industrial maturity of a society. For most of pre-industrial times, fewer than five percent of the total population lived in urban centers, which were generally trading and administrative centers. The main reason for this was the agricultural demands of the time, where subsistence farming was the primary method of food production for the general population. Compared to Japan and China, a larger share of Western Europe lived in urban centers in the 16th century, due to higher levels of trade along the Mediterranean and between northern states, but around 94 percent of the population still lived in a rural setting. Effect of industrialization With the onset of the first industrial revolution in the 19th century, the mechanization of agriculture and development of manufacturing industries saw a shift in labor demands in Western Europe. People began migrating to cities on a large scale, and migration to the U.S. also increased due to industrialization in the northeastern states. Urban populations then became more prosperous, although mortality rates were initially higher due to the more rapid spread of disease and poor sanitation infrastructure. This mortality also disproportionately affected children and more recent arrivals. Global trends Waves of industrialization in Europe saw further urbanization throughout the 1800s, and roughly a third of the population had urbanized by the end of the 19th century. Globally, it would take until the 1960s before one third of the population had urbanized, and it was not until the late 1990s where China's urbanization rate had reached this level. However, China's urbanization rate has grown rapidly since the 1980s, and is now around 80 percent of the EU's level, whereas it was closer to 50 percent just two decades previously. Japan's urbanization rate was comparable to Europe's for most of the 20th century, but increased further throughout the 2010s; today it has one of the highest rates among more developed nations, although this has presented some challenges for Japanese society.

China urban population for 2023 was 910,895,447, a 1.48% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>China urban population for 2022 was <strong>897,578,430</strong>, a <strong>1.66% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>China urban population for 2021 was <strong>882,894,483</strong>, a <strong>1.86% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>China urban population for 2020 was <strong>866,810,508</strong>, a <strong>2.1% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.

Land Use History of Detected CK Sites

Based on a collection of estimates, over the past 9,000 years, there have been at least 48 cities with a claim to the title of "the world's most populous city". While these can be found on four separate continents, the majority are concentrated in three major regions; 12 of these cities were in present-day Iraq or Syria (then-Mesopotamia), nine were in China, and seven in Egypt. Additionally, many of these cities were found across the Mediterranean, not only during Antiquity (Alexandria, Carthage, and Rome), but also during the Middle Ages (Constantinople, Cordova, and Fez), highlighting the economic significance of this region throughout history.

Many of the older entries in this list are now just archeological sites, although several have been continuously inhabited for millennia, such as Luoyang and Xi'an in China, which both have populations of several million in 2022. It may also be possible that the first entry, Jericho, is the world's oldest, continuously inhabited settlement, although this is a topic of debate.

Macau MO: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 4.000 Person in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.000 Person for 2015. Macau MO: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 8.000 Person from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2016, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.000 Person in 2004 and a record low of 1.000 Person in 2013. Macau MO: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Macau SAR – Table MO.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Study areaBeijing City (39°26′-41°03′ N, 115°25′ -117°30′ E) is located in the northern part of the north China Plain, with a total administrative area of 16,410 km2. It is surrounded by mountains in the west, north and northeast, and a plain to the southeast that slopes gently down to the Bohai Sea, with a warm temperate semi-humid and semi-arid monsoon climate. Considering the different time of construction and urbanization of different ring road areas in Beijing, as well as the influence of highways in Beijing on bird populations (Zhang et al., 2013), the urban residential areas inside the Second Ring Road and outside the Fourth Ring Road, which have large differences in date of initiation of urbanization in Beijing, were selected in this study. The area within the Second Ring Road was defined as the old urban area, and the area outside the Fourth Ring Road was defined as the new urban area. All the residential areas studied are relatively closed and independent settlements with similar urban infrastructure (multi-story houses, concrete buildings, central squares, green spaces, gardens) and are surrounded by urban roads, green spaces, and buildings (Figure 1).Guangzhou City (22°26′-23°56′ N, 112°57′-114°3′ E), the capital of Guangdong Province, south China, is located in the Pearl River Delta, with a total administrative area of 7,334.4 km2. Annual average temperature is between 21.7℃ and 23.1℃, with an average annual precipitation of 1,923 mm.Shenzhen City (22°24'-52' N, 113°43'-114°38' E) is located in the south of Guangdong Province, on the east coast of the Pearl River estuary, with a total administrative area of 1,997.47 km2. It has a subtropical monsoon climate with mild temperatures and abundant precipitation, with an average annual temperature of 23.0°C. Shenzhen was founded in March 1979, and in August 1980 the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was established. Over the past 40 years, Shenzhen has developed from a backward frontier town into a modern international metropolis. Considering the close geographic location between Shenzhen and Guangzhou Cities, and the difference in the duration of urbanization between them, in this study, Guangzhou was defined as an old city with a long history of urbanization and Shenzhen was defined as a neighboring new city.Xi'an City (33°39'-34°45' N, 107°40'-109°49' E) is located in the Guanzhong Basin, between the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains and Weihe River in north-western China, with a total administrative area of 10,108 km2. Xi'an belongs to the warm temperate sub-humid continental monsoon climate, with a vegetation coverage rate of 29% (Xu et al., 2013). In this study, the area within the second ring road route of Xi'an City is defined as the old urban area, while the Economic and Technological Development Zone, Qujiang New District and Chanba Ecological Zone are defined as the new urban area.Study speciesBirds living in cities are more susceptible to anthropogenic activities and then are more likely to change their behavior to adapt to urban environment. About 10,000 years ago, the Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) had already adapted to the human environment of the time and were closely connected with human society (Sætre et al., 2012). As one of the earliest organisms associated with human urban life (Møller, 2015), Eurasian tree sparrows mainly feed on the ground and often use the food resources in the city. As the dominant species in the city, they are an ideal subject for studying the adaptability of birds to urbanization. In addition, commonly seen ground-foraging birds in urban areas, including the Chinese blackbird (Turdus mandarinus), spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) and azure-winged magpie (Cyanopica cyanus), were also selected in this study, which are distributed in urban and rural environments throughout China (Zheng, 2023).In this study, four areas in Beijing, Xi'an, Guangzhou and Shenzhen with significant differences in initiation of urbanization were selected as study sites, and flight initiation distance (FID) was observed for common ground-foraging birds in these cities. The results showed that the duration of urbanization significantly affected the adaptation of birds to anthropogenic disturbance in cities. Birds living in areas with longer periods of urbanization were more tolerant to anthropogenic disturbance. Our study suggests that the duration of urbanization has an important influence on the behavioral adaptation of birds to human disturbance.

In 1800, the population of the territory that makes up present-day Thailand was approximately 4.7 million people. As part of the kingdom of Siam, the population of Thailand would grow gradually through the 19 th century, with much of the population growth being driven by Chinese emigration from southern Qing China into Siam, in search of work and refuge from instability in their home country. This migrant influx would continue throughout the century, with estimates suggesting that the Chinese population in Siam grew from 230,000 in 1825, to over 792,000 in 1910; by 1932, over 12 percent of the population in modern-day Thailand was ethnically Chinese. Migration from China would see another surge under the reign of Vajiravudh, as the "Warlord era" in China, after the fall of the Qing dynasty, would see entire families of Chinese immigrants arriving in Thailand. While immigration would slow in later years, Chinese-Thai would remain a significant demographic in Thailand’s population, both as one of the largest overseas Chinese populations, and accounting for an estimated 11-14 percent of the total Thailand population in 2012.

Population growth would slow somewhat in the 1930s, as several rebellions and coups, paired with a rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in the country, would result in a sharp decline in immigration to the country. In the years following the Second World War, the population of Thailand would begin to grow rapidly, following a wave of urbanization and a significant increase in standard of living throughout the country. As a result, the population of Thailand would rise from approximately 20 million in 1950, to just under 63 million by the turn of the century just 50 years later. This population growth would slow somewhat as the country would continue to modernize in the 2000s, and in 2020, it is estimated that just under 70 million people live in Thailand.