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.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Shanghai, China metro area from 1950 to 2025.

In 2023, the district of the Shanghai municipality with the highest resident population density was Hongkou district with an average of 29,280 people living on one square kilometer. The average density of the population of the Shanghai municipality in total was 3,923 people per square kilometer that year.

In 2023, the city of Shanghai had a total resident population of around 24.87 million people. Pudong New Area was the city district with the largest population, being home to around 5.81 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 12.19 million people in 2023.

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.

Population: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai data was reported at 18.555 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 18.138 Person th for 2022. Population: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 15.618 Person th from Dec 1982 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18,705.024 Person th in 2010 and a record low of 10.477 Person th in 1999. Population: 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.

In 2023, the average resident population density in the Shanghai municipality was 3,923 people per square kilometer. This figure remained largely unchanged in the recent five 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.

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 2022, the average life expectancy for the registered population in Shanghai municipality was 83.66 years. In that particular year, the life expectancy of registered female persons was 85.66 years, while that of male persons was 80.84 years.

Population: Shanghai: Jiading data was reported at 1,886.100 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,893.400 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Jiading data is updated yearly, averaging 1,566.200 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,893.400 Person th in 2022 and a record low of 527.000 Person th in 2005. Population: Shanghai: Jiading 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: 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: Jinshan data was reported at 822.700 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 823.700 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Jinshan data is updated yearly, averaging 797.100 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 823.700 Person th in 2022 and a record low of 517.000 Person th in 2009. Population: Shanghai: Jinshan 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, about 289 thousand people moved to the Shanghai municipality and got registered there, while 30 thousand registered inhabitants left the city. The growth rate by migration of the registered population in the Shanghai municipality was 1.71 percent in 2023.

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.

Population: Shanghai: Huangpu data was reported at 504.700 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 507.800 Person th for 2022. Population: Shanghai: Huangpu data is updated yearly, averaging 653.800 Person th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 704.800 Person th in 2012 and a record low of 504.700 Person th in 2023. Population: Shanghai: Huangpu 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.

According to a survey focusing on renters in China's major cities, as of early 2022, more than eight in ten of renters in Shanghai received some forms of university educations, while almost 55 percent held academic degrees. The renting population in Shanghai is predominantly people from other regions in China looking for better opportunities in the economic center.

In 2023, approximately 127.1 million people lived in Guangdong province in China. That same year, only about 3.65 million people lived in the sparsely populated highlands of Tibet. Regional differences in China China is the world’s most populous country, with an exceptional economic growth momentum. The country can be roughly divided into three regions: Western, Eastern, and Central China. Western China covers the most remote regions from the sea. It also has the highest proportion of minority population and the lowest levels of economic output. Eastern China, on the other hand, enjoys a high level of economic development and international corporations. Central China lags behind in comparison to the booming coastal regions. In order to accelerate the economic development of Western and Central Chinese regions, the PRC government has ramped up several incentive plans such as ‘Rise of Central China’ and ‘China Western Development’. Economic power of different provinces When observed individually, some provinces could stand an international comparison. Jiangxi province, for example, a medium-sized Chinese province, had a population size comparable to Argentina or Spain in 2023. That year, the GDP of Zhejiang, an eastern coastal province, even exceeded the economic output of the Netherlands. In terms of per capita annual income, the municipality of Shanghai reached a level close to that of the Czech Republik. Nevertheless, as shown by the Gini Index, China’s economic spur leaves millions of people in dust. Among the various kinds of economic inequality in China, regional or the so-called coast-inland disparity is one of the most significant. Posing as evidence for the rather large income gap in China, the poorest province Heilongjiang had a per capita income similar to that of Sri Lanka that year.

Population: Town: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai data was reported at 1.098 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.159 Person th for 2022. Population: Town: Age 15 to 64: Shanghai data is updated yearly, averaging 1.325 Person th from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2023, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,396.930 Person th in 2010 and a record low of 0.101 Person th in 1997. Population: Town: 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: Town.

BackgroundFangcang shelter hospitals are quarantine facilities offering primary medical treatment for mild and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases. Little is known about the age-specific prevalence of insomnia among patients in Fangcang shelter hospitals, particularly in older age groups.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in the three largest Fangcang shelter hospitals during the lockdown period, from March to May 2022, in Shanghai. The patients’ demographic and medical information was recorded. Insomnia was defined according to the prescriptions for zolpidem and estazolam. The overall and age-specific prevalence and the risk factors of insomnia were investigated through regression models.ResultsA total of 2,39,448 patients were included in this study (59.09% of the patients were male, the median age was 42, and 73.41% of the patients were asymptomatic), with the prevalence of insomnia being 3.1%. The prevalence of insomnia varied across different age groups (