As of 2023, about **** percent of the population of Shanghai municipality in China were 65 years and older. This share is expected to grow rapidly in the coming decades. Shanghai is one of the four first tier cities in China, the other three being Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.

In 2023, the city of Shanghai had a total resident population of around ***** million people. Pudong New Area was the city district with the largest population, being home to around **** million people. The seven inner-city districts of Huangpu, Xuhui, Changning, Jing'an, Putuo, Hongkou, and Yangpu, as well as Pudong New Area, had a total population of around ***** million people in 2023.

According to official figures, around 24.8 million permanent residents were living in the administrative area of Shanghai municipality in 2024. This was 71,900 people less than in the previous year. Population development in Shanghai During the economic reform and opening-up period, Shanghai’s population more than doubled and reached 24.5 million in 2013. However, the limits of demographic growth in Chinese megacities became increasingly apparent since the beginning of the 21st century. In 2017, the Shanghai municipal government planned to limit Shanghai's population and to keep the population within the 25 million-threshold until 2035. As a result, the total population has remained relatively stable since 2013. Furthermore, inhabitants are unevenly distributed across the city districts, with the central urban areas having population densities of around 20,000 people or more per square kilometer. Current demographic shifts Under the conditions of restricted demographic inflows, the effect of population aging becomes increasingly apparent in Shanghai. The city traditionally had a low birth rate compared to other regions in China. In recent years, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births, a development that most probably started in 2020. This development is also reflected in the share of people aged 65 and over which increased steadily in recent times. If migration barriers are not lowered, population decrease in Shanghai is likely in the future.

Population: Shanghai data was reported at 26.187 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 25.347 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 19.877 Person th from Dec 1982 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24,870.895 Person th in 2020 and a record low of 14.394 Person th in 1999. Population: Shanghai 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 2023, the average resident population density in the Shanghai municipality was ***** people per square kilometer. This figure remained largely unchanged in the recent five years.

Population: County: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai data was reported at 2.046 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.034 Person th for 2022. Population: County: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 1.761 Person th from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2023, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,003.724 Person th in 2020 and a record low of 0.740 Person th in 2003. Population: County: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai 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 Age and Region: Rural.

Population: Shanghai: Minhang data was reported at 2,716.600 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,688.800 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Minhang data is updated yearly, averaging 2,534.300 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,716.600 Person th in 2023 and a record low of 825.000 Person th in 2005. Population: Shanghai: Minhang data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GW: Population: Municipality District.

In 2023, the officially registered population of the Shanghai municipality reached approximately ***** million persons. The number of registered people living in the big cities in China is in general much lower than the number of actual residents, which reached about ** million in the Shanghai municipality in that year.

In 2023, the district of the Shanghai municipality with the highest resident population density was Hongkou district with an average of ****** people living on one square kilometer. The average density of the population of the Shanghai municipality in total was ***** people per square kilometer that year.

Population: Birth Rate: Shanghai data was reported at 0.475 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.395 % for 2023. Population: Birth Rate: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 0.697 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2024, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.031 % in 1990 and a record low of 0.395 % in 2023. Population: Birth Rate: Shanghai 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: Birth Rate: By Region.

In 2023, about *** thousand people moved to the Shanghai municipality and got registered there, while ** thousand registered inhabitants left the city. The growth rate by migration of the registered population in the Shanghai municipality was **** percent in 2023.

Population: Shanghai: Changning data was reported at 694.900 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 684.600 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Changning data is updated yearly, averaging 691.100 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 705.400 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 611.000 Person th in 2007. Population: Shanghai: Changning data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GW: Population: Municipality District.

Population: Usual Residence: Natural Growth Rate: Shanghai data was reported at -1.530 ‰ in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of -2.420 ‰ for 2023. Population: Usual Residence: Natural Growth Rate: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 2.450 ‰ from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2024, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.200 ‰ in 2012 and a record low of -2.420 ‰ in 2023. Population: Usual Residence: Natural Growth Rate: Shanghai data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Usual Residence: Natural Growth Rate.

Population: Shanghai: Songjiang data was reported at 1,973.500 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,954.500 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Songjiang data is updated yearly, averaging 1,751.300 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,973.500 Person th in 2023 and a record low of 522.000 Person th in 2005. Population: Shanghai: Songjiang data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GW: Population: Municipality District.

China is a vast and diverse country and population density in different regions varies greatly. In 2023, the estimated population density of the administrative area of Shanghai municipality reached about 3,922 inhabitants per square kilometer, whereas statistically only around three people were living on one square kilometer in Tibet. Population distribution in China China's population is unevenly distributed across the country: while most people are living in the southeastern half of the country, the northwestern half – which includes the provinces and autonomous regions of Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia – is only sparsely populated. Even the inhabitants of a single province might be unequally distributed within its borders. This is significantly influenced by the geography of each region, and is especially the case in the Guangdong, Fujian, or Sichuan provinces due to their mountain ranges. The Chinese provinces with the largest absolute population size are Guangdong in the south, Shandong in the east and Henan in Central China. Urbanization and city population Urbanization is one of the main factors which have been reshaping China over the last four decades. However, when comparing the size of cities and urban population density, one has to bear in mind that data often refers to the administrative area of cities or urban units, which might be much larger than the contiguous built-up area of that city. The administrative area of Beijing municipality, for example, includes large rural districts, where only around 200 inhabitants are living per square kilometer on average, while roughly 20,000 residents per square kilometer are living in the two central city districts. This is the main reason for the huge difference in population density between the four Chinese municipalities Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing shown in many population statistics.

In 2023, the child and old-age dependency ratio in Shanghai municipality in China ranged at around **** and **** percent, respectively, summing up to a total dependency ratio of around **** percent. While the child dependency ratio is expected to remain more or less stable, the old-age dependency ratio will rise steadily in the coming years.

Population: Shanghai: Yangpu data was reported at 1,210.800 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,199.200 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Yangpu data is updated yearly, averaging 1,304.900 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,324.300 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 1,077.000 Person th in 2007. Population: Shanghai: Yangpu data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GW: Population: Municipality District.

In 2023, the average number of people living together in one household in the Shanghai municipality was approximately ****. The number of people per household has decreased slightly over the last decade.

Population: Shanghai: Xuhui data was reported at 1,109.800 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,098.500 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Xuhui data is updated yearly, averaging 1,089.100 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,125.132 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 887.000 Person th in 2005. Population: Shanghai: Xuhui data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GW: Population: Municipality District.

Population: Shanghai: Pudong New data was reported at 5,811.100 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,782.000 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Pudong New data is updated yearly, averaging 5,451.200 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,096.100 Person th in 2021 and a record low of 1,848.000 Person th in 2005. Population: Shanghai: Pudong New data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GW: Population: Municipality District.