China's demographic policy. Population of China. Why are there so many Chinese? Average life expectancy of the Chinese. How many children can the Chinese have?

Over the past few years, quite a lot of materials have appeared in the media in which the authors, if not directly pitting Russia against each other for Siberian and Far Eastern territories and wealth, then hint that the Chinese are dreaming and see themselves as the owners of these territories.

And as an argument/argument they talk about the huge population of China and the fact that, if desired, China may well field an army equal in size to the entire population of Russia. And such a huge crowd rushes to capture Siberia and the Far East.

“Where are we going to bury you all?” - this is a completely different question. Now, using data from a source that made an ambiguous impression on me, I will try to figure out whether these millions of Chinese who want to escape from overpopulated China to the vastness of Russia are not a myth.

In general, if you look very carefully, a feeling of surprise immediately arises. Especially if you imagine this billion and a third, crowded on a strip along the coast.

A fair question arises as to how this is even possible, with a density of about 400 people per square kilometer. And, most importantly, who provides them with a normal life, because rice does not seem to grow in cities.

We immediately discard the average population density of China. 140 people/sq. km is nothing, because the bourgeois map shows everything. There are territories with enormous population density, and there are absolutely uninhabited areas. This is normal for a country with such terrain as China.

Cities. Here lies a definite solution. According to statistics, in 2011, the Chinese authorities announced for the first time that more than half (51.27%) of the country’s population lived in cities. 102 cities with a population of over 1 million people, of which 21 are over two million.

According to the rules adopted in China, the urban population does not include those living in the suburbs.

If you use a calculator, then in the 21st largest city China has a population of about 82.5 million people. And about the same number in the remaining million-plus cities.

According to the same statistics, in the PRC 228 cities have a population of over 200 thousand people, 462 cities have a population of over 100 thousand people. and 912 cities - over 53 thousand. Let us inflate the numbers on average (400, 150 and 70, respectively), and we find that approximately 248.34 million people live in these cities.

If we add up megacities, million-plus cities and other cities, we get a figure of 413.8 million people. Very approximate.

Were there any?

In fact, it turns out that no one really counted the number of Chinese. Official WHO data is sprinkled with asterisks marked “according to unverified data,” “according to Chinese data,” and things like cumin pilaf. All data are estimates based on information provided by the Chinese side.

Likewise, the original figure from which it is customary to start, 594 million people (1953, the first census of communist China), is very controversial.

It would seem that there was nothing complicated: they took it and counted everyone. But in the work I mentioned about the China of our compatriots, the approach is somewhat different. They do not question the figures, they simply provide data about China based on European and Chinese sources from the 19th century.

What do we see? We see that in the mid-19th century the population of China dropped significantly. By 80–90 million. There was a reason, and more than one. Two Opium Wars and four major uprisings fit into this period. There was a war with the Taipings for 18 years, and about the same amount of time they fought with the Miao authorities.

Everything is very logical.

The second peak of the decline occurred in the 20-40s of the last century. And here almost everything is clear. The civil war in China since 1927, smoothly developing into the Second World War, which began for China in 1937. That is, another 18 years of losses.

And again, the numbers are very, very approximate. There is nothing definite about the civil war at all; during World War II, China lost from 10 to 35 million, depending on the appetites of those counting.

The main thing is that the initial figure of 430 million was taken, if not out of thin air, then somewhere nearby. But the fact seems to be true - over the 100 years from 1845 to 1945, the number of Chinese has hardly changed. And this, I emphasize, is according to the Chinese themselves.

What's next? And then the demographic miracle began. There is no other way to call it. The Chinese rushed to “be fruitful and multiply,” as in the Bible. And in 70 years they increased their population three times, to the modern figure. Actually, a billion.

What can we say here? Someone needs to applaud. Either the creators of children, or the compilers of reports. Otherwise, it's just a miracle.

Despite the post-war reaction, the losses in the Korean War, the peculiar actions of the CCP, which led to the Great Famine of 1958-61, when only according to official data of the Chinese government, 15 million people died, and the policy of artificial restriction of “one family” carried out since the 80s - one child,” China is showing population growth, and what a growth! The population is growing by 12 million people a year.

Experts say that due to the large base (initial) figure.

Let me remind you that the base figure was 430 million people. And in 100 years it has not actually changed. Wars, uprisings, more wars and not the most advanced level of medicine. China, by the way, was one of the leaders in child mortality in the world.

And suddenly, at the level of 1944–45, a demographic explosion begins. Illogical because there is a war going on, men are fighting, the Japanese are diligently reducing the population of China, nevertheless.

I would understand if it all started in 1947-49. When the war was more or less over, the men returned from the front and so on. By analogy with 1946-50 in our country.

No, in 1949, the year the PRC was founded, the figure was already 551 million, and at the first official census in 1953 - 582 million.

Sane? Not good. Basic 430 million minus Civil War, minus World War II (10–30 million), minus natural decline, minus indirect losses (I mean the loss of the male population in the war), the output still gives +120 million people in 1949. For 22 years, during which China fought from 1927 to 1945. And 4 years of peace.

Well, another +30 million 4 years before the 1953 census.

Then there was a cultural revolution with countless repressions, the Great Famine, another war (little things, yes, 150 thousand men in total), but the population grew faster and faster. And about 20 million fled to Taiwan from the joys of communism.

But the population continued to grow at the most rapid pace.

There is one more important aspect. This population simply has to eat something. Otherwise, judging by the data from 1958–61, it begins to decline rapidly.

And here, too, not everything is completely clear. Yes, China ranks many firsts in terms of consumption.

I'll start with grains, since this is the most significant indicator.

In the USSR in 1975–1990, per capita grain consumption per year was 0.55 tons per person. The figure is approximately the same for Russia today. Grain is not only bread and pasta, it is also meat. The figures for domestic grain consumption in Russia (about 75 million tons) correspond to reality.

Vietnam consumes about 60 million tons of grains, with an official population of 91 million, that is, 0.66 tons per person per year. Which is also real, in any case, Asia historically consumes more grains. Rice is the boss of everything.

Cereal production in China is officially 557 million tons. There are almost no imports. Population 1370 million

Total 0.4 tons per person. in year. Do the (prosperous) Chinese eat less than the Vietnamese? Those who obviously live worse. And again, meat production has not gone away. And the Chinese also eat it with all their hearts.

In 2016, China produced 53 million tons of pork. That is, 40 kg per person per year. A total production meat is about 80 million tons. That is, officially the Chinese consume 60 kg of meat per year (in the Russian Federation about 80 kg per year).

Questions again. To produce 1 kg of pork you need the equivalent of about 9 kg of grain. That is, it turns out that more should be spent on feed than the entire grain production of China, which is unrealistic.

There are world statistics that about 2/3 of grain is used for meat, that is, about 370 million tons. This yields 40 million tons of meat. That is, 30 kg per person. But the Chinese eat more!

In Vietnam, consumption is 50 kg of meat per year. For this you need 450 kg of grain. There are 660 kg of cereals per person in Vietnam. 660–450 = 210 kg for human consumption, that is, the same proportion - 2/3 for animals and 1/3 for humans.

So it turns out through meat that either the Chinese don’t have that much meat, or they don’t have that much Chinese...

Maybe the Chinese are lying? And they just don’t show all their achievements? Are these 550 million tons of grain hidden from statistics by simply importing them from somewhere?

And there is simply nowhere to import such a massive amount of grain. In 2017, Russia is projected to rank 1–2 in the world in grain exports. And this is 38–40 million tons.

And statistics say that the existing production of 557 million tons of grain occurs with an average yield in China of 59 centners per hectare (this is a high yield, so in the USA the grain yield is 76 centners / ha, in Vietnam 56 centners / ha, which is comparable to China, and in Russia generally 30 c/ha in 2017).

This is almost 100 million hectares of land or 1 million square meters. km. Large areas. 10% of China's territory. But logically, in order to feed 1.4 billion mouths with such a yield, it is necessary to increase the area under grain to 20% of the country’s territory.

But man does not live by bread alone, right? China is planting thousands of square meters. km. for soybeans 67, for potatoes 55, for orchards 128, for tea 20.

According to rough statistics, China produces half of the world's total production of vegetables and melons - 480 million tons. For this we need about 200 thousand sq. m. km. crops. Total 470 thousand sq. km., that is, almost 5% of the country's territory.

But in general, we ended up with 15% of China's territory under agricultural land. This figure also coincides with land resources statistics.

But the catch is that a huge part of China’s territory is not only suitable for grain, but generally unsuitable for life, because it is either deserts or mountains. With zero population density, because it’s impossible to live there at all.

Take a look at administrative map China. There are so-called autonomous regions (ARs) in China. There are five of them, but now we are talking about three: Xinjiang-Uyghur, Inner Mongolia and Tibet.

These three ARs occupy 1.66 million square meters respectively. km, 1.19 million sq. km and 1.22 million sq. km, totaling about 4 million sq. km, almost half of the territory of the PRC. There are, respectively, 19.6 million, 23.8 million and 2.74 million people living in these territories, a total of about 46 million people, about 3% of the population of China.

Of course, these areas are not the most wonderful to live in (mountains, deserts, steppes), but no worse than Outer Mongolia or our Tuva, or, for example, Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan.

Another 10% of the territory (almost a million sq. km.) is occupied by the megacities mentioned above. We're keeping quiet about other cities for now.

100%-40-15-10=35% of the territory seems to be free. But on this 35%, neither more nor less, but about a billion people still live. Those who are not among the 250 million residents of large cities. Plus rivers, lakes and other reliefs.

Whether it is possible to allocate another 15% of the entire territory from this number for a real doubling of production - it is difficult for me to judge. But it doesn't seem real.

For comparison, in Vietnam, 90 thousand square meters are plowed under grain crops. km, which is 27% of the country’s territory, another 10% of the territory is under settlements, despite the fact that 50% of the territory is suitable for life in Vietnam (25% low hills and 25% plains).

If we take the territory suitable for life as 100%, then half is already under grain crops, 20% is under cities, and the rest is 30%. Which is close to existing Chinese proportions, only with more arable land and fewer cities and industry.

So, in general, it turns out that judging by the numbers, there are not so many people in China. And if there is, then, to put it mildly, their life is not the most satisfying. But they live, and they live normally. There's no arguing with that either.

It’s not just that the conclusion came to me, people have been talking and writing about this for a long time. There are no 1.3 billion people in China. In principle, there is a place for them, but there is no food prepared. This is obtained from the production and import figures.

And I agree with those who argue that China's actual population ranges from 500 to 700 million. I would even agree with the figure of 700–800 million. But not 1.3 billion.

Another question is how and why these 500 million could have been attributed. And who benefits from it?

It is primarily beneficial for China itself. The deterrent factor is no worse nuclear weapons. Who would bother to fight a country that can field an army of 100 million? But this requires colossal reserves of weapons.

There is a second nuance. And it is more effective as a scarecrow. Immigration “if something happens.” We all witnessed how the 2.8 million official refugees (and about 1.8 unofficial) who arrived in Europe in 2013–15 put Europe in a very uncomfortable position, to put it mildly.

But the smart and cunning Chinese (and behind them the Indians, Indonesians, and indeed all of Asia) realized back in the last century that population size is a strategic weapon just like bombs and missiles.

And the prospect of feeding and supporting such a crowd of people is a very difficult task. No less difficult than kicking back from such a situation as the Arab-style population of India, China, and Vietnam rushing towards the aggressor.

It is clear that Pacific Ocean- is not Gulf of Mexico and not the Mediterranean Sea. It seems easier in Siberia.

But it’s no less easier to go to Myanmar, where there are fewer people and the climatic conditions are the same as in China. And there is no nuclear club.

In general, the result of this “research” was the following conclusion: there is no reason for concern yet, since in China there are not one and a half billion people suffocating from hunger and lack of land.

Yes, the figure of 700–800 million is also impressive. However, in this situation there is no reason to worry. Now, if obscenity like our 90s suddenly happens in China, then yes. In the meantime, everything is calm in Beijing. Nobody is going anywhere, because there is no need and there is no one yet.

The Chinese government likes to draw huge numbers of population growth - well, who can stop it? And who is against it? Let them draw.

Roman Skomorokhov

Quick answer: about 1.4 billion people.

The People's Republic of China, or PRC, or China, is a country located in East Asia, which is considered the largest in terms of population, and in terms of territory it ranks third in the world after Russia and Canada.

Currently, the country is home to 56 peoples, each of which has its own customs and even its own languages. However, in China there are 93% of the Chinese who call themselves the word “Han”, and the peoples make up only the remaining 7%.

In 2000, the fifth All-China meeting took place, according to which the state had just over one billion and 137 million inhabitants. Ten years later, the last census to date was carried out, according to which total The population in the PRC is 1 billion 339 million 724 thousand 852 people - it is by this parameter that this nation is considered the largest in the world.

It is worth noting that at the end of the 70s of the last century, the government decided to slow down population growth through a policy of birth control. The purpose of the limit is no more than one child per family, with exceptions for ethnic minorities. In addition, a slightly different policy has been chosen for rural areas, according to which one family can have a second child if the first one has physical disabilities or is a girl. This necessary measure, since in villages there is a need for labor, therefore preference is given to boys. But at the same time, it is worth noting the fact that many families deceive the state - they give birth to several children at once, and during the population census they are simply not indicated in the questionnaire. Thus, it turns out that the real number of people living in China is much higher. But even with strict policies that still bear fruit by reducing the birth rate compared to previous years, population growth is still huge due to the base figure.

The situation with sterilization and abortion is interesting - despite the fact that official policy is against such operations, local authorities very often practice them, since otherwise they will be subject to a large fine due to the inability to curb the increase in the birth rate.

In China, slightly more boys are born than girls. At the same time, women live short lives longer than men, and the average life expectancy in the country is 71 years. Only about 36% of all residents live in cities, the remaining 64% live in villages and villages, while in the latter there is a surplus of labor, while in cities, on the contrary, sometimes there is not enough of it. Analysts believe that urban population growth will continue into the 21st century, with an annual increase of about 1%.

In the old days in China they were very revered family values. Moreover, no one ever thought about divorce. And the most interesting thing is that many parents of the Chinese of the current generation married with the approval of trade unions. Today, the Chinese rarely think about families, acquire sexual experience early, often change partners, and often live in a civil marriage. By the way, today the Chinese government is seriously considering new law, who considered extramarital affairs illegal.

Stumbled upon interesting article about the real population in China and the overestimation of this figure by official government sources. Very informative, I advise everyone to read it. Even if you think that this material I can't believe it, it will be very educational!

If you look at China, a very big bewilderment arises: where do those 1.5 billion people who supposedly live in China live and what do they eat? The twenty largest urban centers give a population of just over 200 million people...

Today, it is often mentioned in patriotic circles about the desire of the Anglo-Saxon world to push us into a war with China. Very similar to that. In this regard, we often hear from various domestic experts that the Chinese are about to throw hats at us, take over all of Siberia and other catastrophic forecasts. Could this be?

I served 3 years as a conscript Far East in the border troops, I learned patriotism from the example of Damansky’s heroes, however, as it seems to me, the devil is not so terrible...

As you know, China, in addition to being the world’s factory, is also famous for its huge population of about 1.347 billion people (some experts do not stand on ceremony and talk about 1.5 billion - Russian 145 million people as a statistical error) , and the average density is about 140 people per 1 sq. km) and a fairly decent territory (3rd in the world after Russia and Canada - 9.56 million sq. km).

There is a story that either an orderly or some other assistant of Suvorov, writing down a report to the capital about another victory from the words of Alexander Vasilyevich, was surprised at the inflated numbers of killed enemy soldiers. To which, Suvorov allegedly said: “Why feel sorry for their adversaries!”

About the population

The Chinese, and after them the Indians, Indonesians, and indeed the whole of Asia, clearly understood that the population of their countries is the same strategic weapon as bombs and missiles.

No one can reliably say what the actual demographic situation is in Asia, in this case, in China. All data are estimates, at best, information from the Chinese themselves (the last census was in 2000).

Surprisingly, despite the ongoing recent years Despite government policies aimed at limiting the birth rate (one family - one child), the population is still growing by 12 million people a year, according to experts, due to the huge base (i.e. initial) figure.

I'm certainly not a demographer, but 2+2=4. If you have a population of 100: two died in a year, one was born, a year later 99. If there are 100 million or 1 billion, and the ratio of births to deaths is negative, then what difference does it make in the initial figure, the result will be negative. The Chinese and demographic experts paradoxically have a plus!

A very confusing question. For example, in the monograph by Korotaev, Malkov, Khalturin “Historical Macrodynamics of China” an interesting table is given:

1845 – 430 million;
1870 – 350;
1890 – 380;
1920 – 430;
1940 - 430,
1945 – 490.

I came across an old atlas that said that in 1939, i.e. before the 2nd World War, there were 350 million people in China. You don’t need to be an expert to see the huge discrepancies and the absence of any coherent system in the behavior of the Chinese population.

Either a drop of 80 million in 25 years, then an increase of 50 million in 30 years, or no change in 20 years. The main thing is that the initial figure of 430 million was taken absolutely out of the blue, who counted their adversaries. But the fact seems to be obvious: for 95 years from 1845 to 1940, the number of Chinese has not changed, as it was, it remains so.

But over the next 72 years (taking into account disastrous wars, hunger and poverty, and more than 20 years of containment policies), there was an increase of almost a billion!

For example, everyone knows that the USSR lost 27 million people during the Great Patriotic War, but few people know that the second country in terms of human losses is China - 20 million people. Some experts (perhaps like our Chubais) talk about 45 million. And despite such monstrous losses and generally all kinds of hardships, from 1940 to 1945 there was a huge increase of 60 million! Moreover, in addition to the World War, there was also a civil war in China, and in Taiwan there are now 23 million people who were considered Chinese in 1940.

However, as a result of the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the population of the People's Republic of China already amounted to 550 million people. For 4 years, we don’t count those who fled to Taiwan, and the growth is simply galloping 60 million people. Then there was the cultural revolution with countless repressions and the eating of sparrows during the famine years, and the population grew faster and faster.

And yet, we will almost believe it and count on our knees. 430 in 1940. This is a lot, of course. 430 million. About half are women (in Asia there are even fewer women, but so be it). About 200. Of these, grandmothers and girls are another 23. Women give birth from approximately 15 to 40 = 25 years, and live beyond 70. We get 70 million. We believe that there are no childless people or lesbians in China, + allowance for my demographic unprofessionalism = 70 million childbearing women in 1940.

How many children would these young ladies have to give birth to so that in 9 years there would be 490 million Chinese, an increase of 15%? War, devastation, no medicine, the Japanese are committing atrocities... According to science, if my memory serves me correctly, in order not to simply reduce the population, you need to give birth 3-3.5 times. And an additional 90 million for 70 million women giving birth, another 1.2 people. Physically, in 9 years, 4-5 children is not easy, but it is possible, but...

The Internet writes that according to the 1953 census there were 594 million, and in 1949 it was not 490, but 549 million. In 4 years, forty-five million. In 13 years, the population grew from 430 to 594, by 164 million, more than a third. Thus, 70 million women in 13 years gave birth to 3.5 each for reproduction + about 2.5 (163:70) = 6.

Someone will object that in Russia there was also a boom at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But in Russia at that time the Japanese did not slaughter 20 million people + 20 million did not flee to Taiwan. And, returning to the table, what prevented the Chinese from increasing by at least 10 million in the previous 100 years? Immediately in 13 years, 164 million, out of the blue, into famine and war. Yes, I almost forgot, little things like the Korean War, where about 150 thousand more childbearing children died Chinese men, it’s absolutely ridiculous to consider. In subsequent decades, the Chinese multiplied and multiplied simply beyond measure.

I think they are simply drawing their Chinese out of thin air, like the Fed’s dollars. Nobody argues, there are a lot of Chinese, as well as Indians and Indonesians, there are still plenty of Nigerians, Iranians, Pakistanis. But many are many discords. And the Indians are great, they took up the initiative in time.

Now a little about the territory. China is big, but... Take a look at the administrative map of the PRC. There are so-called autonomous regions (ARs) in China. There are 5 of them, but now we are talking about 3: Xinjiang Uyghur, Inner Mongolia and Tibetan.

These three ARs occupy 1.66 million sq. km, 1.19 million sq. km, respectively. km and 1.22 million sq. km, only about 4 million sq. km, almost half of the territory of the PRC! There are, respectively, 19.6 million, 23.8 million and 2.74 million people living in these territories, a total of about 46 million people, about 3% of the population of China. Of course, these areas are not the most wonderful to live in (mountains, deserts, steppes), but no worse than Outer Mongolia or our Tuva or, for example, Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan.

Most Chinese live in the area between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers and on warm coast(South and Southeast). Speaking of Mongolia. If Inner Mongolia is larger in territory than France and Germany combined, then MPR-External Mongolia is almost 1.5 times larger in territory than Internal Mongolia = 1.56 million square meters. km. There is practically no population of 2.7 million people (density is 1.7 people per sq. km; in China, let me remind you, 140, including the above-mentioned Ares, where the density is respectively: 12, 20 and 2 person sq. km; in Mesopotamia under 300 people live per square kilometer, cockroaches and that’s all, if you believe the statistical data).

The resources for which the Chinese will supposedly go to Siberia, risking running into the Russians atomic bombs, in Mongolia, and in Kazakhstan too, it’s full, but there are no bombs. Moreover, why not move forward with the idea of ​​reunification and unification of the Mongolian people under the wing of the Celestial Empire?

There are 150-200 thousand Chinese in Russia. Total! Total population Khabarovsk, Primorsky territories, Amur region and the Jewish Autonomous Region (about 5 million) cannot be compared, of course, with the border province of Heilongjiang (38 million), but still.

However, the Mongols are sleeping peacefully (the Chinese and Russians in Mongolia combined make up 0.1% of the population - about 2 thousand), the Kazakhs are also not very tense.

It seems to me that Burma, with its 50 million population and a fairly large territory of 678 thousand square meters, needs to be afraid. km. The same South Chinese billion hangs over it; it is in Myanmar that the dictatorial regime is in place; they, the villains, oppress the Chinese minority (1.5 million!! people). And, most importantly, the equator is nearby, sea ​​coast huge and warm, warm.

But even the Burmese comrades, as they say, are not worried, but we are in a panic.

Well, okay, the Chinese communists are afraid of the Americans to restore order in Taiwanese affairs, but Vietnam is openly lashing out, screaming that it is not afraid, constantly reminding us of the past massacre, Laos and Cambodia have taken charge of the newly minted Big Brother. China and Vietnam are arguing about oil islands, as is the world.

Strange Chinese. The people are already sitting on top of each other, and they are not even developing their vast territories, not to mention weak neighbors like Burma and Mongolia. But Buryatia will definitely be attacked, a 150,000-strong expeditionary force has already been sent, half of them are stuck in Moscow for some reason, some are in warm Vladivostok, but this is nonsense, at the first call - to Siberia.

Well, that’s probably all, to a first approximation.

For 2017 it is 1.3 billion people). India is catching up with the Celestial Empire with 1.2 billion citizens, followed by the USA, Indonesia and Brazil.

Why are there so many Chinese? This can be explained by several reasons: favorable geographical location and favorable climate, a special mentality, the “Great Leap Forward” policy of Mao Zedong. As a result of the combined influence of these factors, the population has increased significantly.

But why are there so many Chinese after the “One Family, One Child” policy, which severely limited the birth rate for decades? The current situation is simply not affected by all the results of the introduction of the course, which, by the way, was recently cancelled.

Population size and dynamics

The population of China as of 2017 is 1.3 billion. According to some forecasts, the population will range from 1.4 to 1.6 billion by 2035. Official censuses were carried out in 1953, 1964, 1982 and 1990. After the 1990 census, the authorities decided to conduct each subsequent census 10 years after the previous one.

The most reliable results are considered to be those of 1982, according to which there were just over a billion citizens in China. The 1952 census showed 582 million Chinese, which, of course, was very far from the actual picture.

Since the eighties of the last century, China has experienced a sharp decline in the birth rate; the figures were especially low in the second half of the 1990-2000s. The Chinese birth rate in 1982 was more than 18 people per thousand citizens, in 1990 - 21 people, in 2000 - 14 people, in 2010 - 11 people.

Life expectancy and population density

Average duration The life expectancy of Chinese people in 2017 is more than 75 years for both sexes. Whereas back in 1960 this figure was 43 years.

Despite the large number of citizens, the average population density of China is far from the highest in the world: the PRC is in 56th place in general list with an indicator of 139 people per square kilometer. For comparison: in Monaco the population density is 18.6 thousand inhabitants per km 2, in Singapore - 7.3 thousand per km 2, in the Vatican - 1914 thousand per km 2.

Chinese emigrants in the world

How many Chinese are there in the world? Immigrants from China and their descendants, permanently or temporarily residing in other countries, are called hauqiao. The country's traditions do not reject emigrants from China, since they believe that the decisive role is played not by citizenship, but by origin. In short, if a great-grandfather was born in China, then so is his great-grandson, who has lived, for example, in Germany since birth and has citizenship European Union, will also be considered Chinese.

The Hautqiao live mainly in the USA, Canada, Europe and South-East Asia. How many Chinese are there in the world? According to various experts, there are about 40 million Chinese emigrants worldwide. There are 20-30 million Chinese living in Asia. The largest proportion of Hautqiao populations are in Singapore (78%) and Malaysia (24%).

Reasons for the large population

Why are there so many Chinese? The main reasons are considered to be the following:

1. Favorable climate and profitable geographical position. Fertile soils and moisture allow for the cultivation of many crops. Thus, agriculture has long been the main occupation of the population. A thriving economy requires a lot of labor, so large families- this has always been prestigious and stable. The more children there are in a family, the more peaceful and secure old age awaits parents.
2. A special mentality. A real cult of family has long reigned in the country, and divorces were something unthinkable. Now, of course, the young urban population gets early sexual experience, the so-called civil marriages and extramarital affairs.
3. Politics of Mao Zedong. At the turn of the fifties and sixties, the leader introduced the “Great Leap Forward” policy, the goal of which was to make China the most powerful country in the world. People were urged to increase the birth rate. It was during those years that the population more than doubled.

Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong said that there is strength in numbers and called for increasing the birth rate. The country needed workers, farmers, soldiers. The leader launched mass construction, nationalized industry and collectivized agriculture.

To Mao's successors, Zedong left the country in complete crisis, about twenty million people became victims of his policies, and another hundred million suffered in one way or another. But one cannot help but admit that it was Mao who, having received an underdeveloped country, made it independent, quite powerful, and possessing nuclear weapons.

During his reign, the population of the People's Republic of China more than doubled, the rate of adult illiteracy dropped from 80% to 7%, and the amount of goods produced increased tenfold. He also managed to unite the Celestial Empire within almost the same borders that existed during the Empire.

Stabilization of population growth

The first population stabilization campaign was carried out in 1956-1958. Then the Chinese were aimed at labor and general collectivization. “Containment” failed and the population increased. The government made a second attempt in 1962. Then the urban population was encouraged to marry late and have long intervals between the births of children.

The main stage of the birth control policy occurred in the seventies. Then a family could only be created from the age of 25 for girls and from 28 years old for men (residents rural areas from 23 and 25 years old, respectively). Also, at least four years had to pass between the birth of the first and second child.

The population was actively encouraged to use contraception, and at the same time the number of abortions increased. By the way, China is still the leader in the number of abortions - about 13 million cases of termination of pregnancy at the request of a woman are performed annually.

Policy "One family - one child"

The fourth stage of fertility decline in China began with the motto “One family, one child” in 1979. The authorities planned to keep the population of the Middle Kingdom at 1.2 billion people by 2000. After a slight easing, the policy was tightened again (from the late eighties).

Families were allowed to have only one child, and a very large fine was imposed for intentional or accidental conception and birth of a second one. For many, this was simply an unaffordable amount. Therefore, a network of planning centers appeared in the country where Chinese women could have an abortion. However, another problem arose: even with their first child, Chinese women terminated their pregnancy if it turned out that the fetus was female.

The course can be considered successful, since the consequence was a decrease in the population to the level of “approximately 1.2 billion” people. Tough demographic policies prevented the emergence of about 400 million “extra” people. However, both Chinese and foreign experts consider the claim about the success of the “One Family - One Child” course to be very doubtful.

Positive effects of the policy

First positive effects already emerged in the eighties. The strain on the economy then eased as the number of births fell sharply. The parents tried to give their only child the best, and the state helped them with this. Children from such families received higher education much more often than those who have brothers and sisters.

Negative consequences of the demographic course

The downsides of the tough demographic policy were the following:

1. Decline in the female population.
2. A large number of selfish children. It is more difficult for such a child to grow up, interact with society and communicate.
3. The number of elderly people significantly exceeded the number of able-bodied people.
4. Quotas for the birth of children force Chinese women to be sent to give birth in other countries, usually to Hong Kong.

Cancellation of population policy

In 2015, the “One family, one child” policy was announced to be abolished. How many children can the Chinese have now? Since 2016, parents have been allowed to have two children. It is expected that the number of abortions in women pregnant with girls will decrease, the number of older people will decrease in relation to the working population, and the burden on the economy will decrease.

Features of maintaining statistics

Many experts believe that the demographic indicators of China and some other Asian countries are greatly overestimated, and there is evidence of this. The first thing you can pay attention to is the fact that in China there are no registration authorities like Russian registry offices. Once every ten years a population census is conducted (and even then it is not known how “thorough”), but there is no more data, only forecasts and opinions.

The fact that if we sum up the population of twenty largest cities Celestial Empire, there will be no more than 250 million. So, the question: “Why are there so many Chinese?” becomes simply irrelevant, because there are not many Chinese, but this is the policy of the state, which provides deliberately unreliable information.

Of course, there is also a rural population. But the share of the urban population in 2010 for the first time (!) in the Middle Kingdom exceeded 50%, amounting to almost 52%. Adding rural residents, we get a total population of approximately 500 million people. Another 10% of the population in China live without permanent registration, so the maximum population is 600 million people, and not 1.3 billion, as everyone used to think.

There are many studies confirming that the real population is greatly overestimated, but so far there have been no official comments on this matter.

The planet's population has long exceeded 7 billion people, and this moment more than 18% of this number live on one large territory. On the world map, the Land of the Rising Sun ranks third, behind only Canada and Russia. The population of China as of 2018 is about 1.4 billion people. By the beginning of 2018, the annual growth was officially equal to 0.47% - this is 152nd position in the world, but despite this, the PRC leadership is taking radical measures to curb the trend of increasing the country's population.

China population 2017

At the end of 2017, China's population grew to 1 billion 390 million, and increased by 7.37 million when compared with the previous period. The demographic statistics included members of the Chinese armed forces.

Statistical documents for 2017 contain the following indicators in millions:

• number of men – 711.37;
• female population – 678.63;
• able-bodied residents of China – 902, accounting for 64.8% of the total;
• share of urban population – 58.52%;
• people from rural areas – 41.48%;
• internal movement of migrants – 244.

Government reports in 2017 noted that the country had reduced its gender imbalance as a result of the “second child” policy. Due to this implementation, the number of abortions has decreased in regions where the birth of male children is a priority than female birth.

For comparison, a year earlier the gender imbalance was 33.6 million, and in 2017 it was 32.5.

Population of China for 2018

The last official population census in China was conducted 8 years ago - in 2010. Its data is the most relevant today and is taken into account in the development of all forecasts. This census was the sixth in the entire history of the Celestial Empire. On the Internet you can find a virtual counter that shows how many people actually live in the Middle Kingdom.

Based on virtual counter data, the population in China as of 2018 is 1.4 billion. This figure takes into account the demographics of mainland China, and includes the population of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The following changes are predicted for 2018, in million people:

• expected increase – 7.2;
• will be born – 17;
• will die around 9.8;
• as a result of migration processes, the number will decrease by 0.38. This means that the number of emigrants (leaving the country) will exceed the number of immigrants (entering for a long period of time).

The daily change in the number of people in China will be as follows:

• birth rate 47 thousand per day;
• mortality 27 thousand per day;
• migration increase - 1 thousand per day.

According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Health and Fertility Planning, the increase in the number of people in China will have the following dynamics:

• in 2020 the number of Chinese will be 1 billion 420 million;
• in 2030 – 1.45 billion;
• By 2050 there will be a decline – 1.1 billion.

The main goals that the government sets for itself are to improve the quality of life and the level of education.

Population density

Despite the large number of citizens, China cannot be called an overly populated country. The total area of ​​the state is 9.6 million square kilometers, which includes the area of ​​land and all bodies of water within the state border. For comparison, the territory of Russia is 17 million square meters. km, and there are 146.5 million people. Population density is calculated as the ratio between the number of inhabitants of the territory to the total area. The average population density of China is 140 people per square meter. km (in Russia this figure is 8). This is an acceptable figure and most countries in Europe have similar rates. However, the distribution of the Chinese population throughout the country is very uneven, and approximately 90% of the population lives on 40% of the territory.

This is due to the following factors:

• economic - people settle closer to sources of resources and production enterprises;
• geographical – most of population is concentrated near reservoirs and fresh water sources;
• climatic conditions affecting the possibility of development Agriculture– the mild climate is more attractive to the Chinese;
• social – level of income and social benefits.

The unfavorable zone occupies 60%. It is home to 10% of the Chinese population due to difficult climatic conditions. If you look at the map, you can see that significant areas are occupied by mountains and deserts. It is difficult to organize agricultural work here due to the lack of water and fertile soil. Lands suitable for agricultural activities are located in coastal regions and occupy about 10% of the total territory.

The population density in the coastal areas in the east of the country is 400 people/square kilometer, in the center - 200, and in mountainous areas - no more than 10.

All large enterprises are concentrated in the Eastern part of the mainland. Since production needs labor, Chinese youth with working professions migrate to these areas. Here the level of income is higher, there are sources of stable income, which means a higher standard of living, so people from villages tend to move to industrial centers.

China is characterized by a high level of urbanization - the proportion of the population living in cities exceeds that in rural areas. The increase in urban population density in China was influenced by:

• inclusion in large administrative units a number of adjacent villages;
• mass migration from rural areas to areas of large industrial production.

As a result of such changes, the number of people in China living in cities was 770 million back in 2013, accounting for 55% of the total population.

At high altitudes, desert areas and nearby state borders national minorities are settled. These regions are rich in land and natural resources that are not fully exploited.

The problem of overpopulation is relevant not only for China, but also for other countries. To solve this problem, humanity must develop new territories and create the necessary infrastructure to improve the quality of life in these areas.

Age and sex composition

Currently, the demographics of China can be characterized as follows:

• high average age, which is a consequence of internal planning policy;
• obvious gender disproportion: there are 1.2 times more men;
• life expectancy is quite high and is 72.7 years for men, 77 for women;
• The main nation is Han Chinese (92%).

The People's Republic of China is multinational country, home to 55 different nationalities. Among the ethnic nationalities, the largest is represented by the Juans (more than 13 million), and the smallest is the Loba (1 thousand). There are ethnic groups that have not yet been identified.

Until recently, in China there was public policy family planning. Its implementation was forced measure in a situation caused by water and food shortages and people's poverty. The essence of the policy is that a Chinese family could only have one child, and citizens were punished financially for violations.

There were exceptions, and the following could have a second child in China:

• when the parents were representatives of national minorities;
• the first girl born in the family;
• parents were the only children in their families;

The exceptions to this rule were Hong Kong and Macau.

At the beginning of 2018, the Chinese population had the following age distribution:

• newborns and children under 15 years of age – 17.6%;
• youth and people of active age 15 to 65 years old – 73.6%
• disabled population, age group from 65 years old – 8.9%.

If, based on these data, we create an age-sex pyramid of the population, then it will have a regressive type - the mortality rate slows down and the birth rate decreases. In the structure of society, a larger percentage are middle-aged and elderly people; there are few newborns.

The Chinese age-sex pyramid is close in structure to the pyramids of developed European countries, main trend which is aging.

Thanks to high level medicine, improving the quality of education and rising living standards, life expectancy is increasing, and the birth rate tends to decrease.

Table 1. Age and sex pyramid.

The fertility rate (the actual ratio of the number of children to the number of women of reproductive age) is 1.18, which ranks 183rd in the world. With below average population growth, the annual average figure of 22 million comes from the impressive figure of the country's total population.

Population dynamics

In the territory modern China stable positive dynamics of population growth can be traced. The number of Chinese citizens by year is shown in the table:

Table 2. Dynamics of the Chinese population.

In 2016, strict government regulation of the birth rate and the one-child policy were eliminated, but at the moment more than 60% of young people are not ready to have a large number of children. This is reasoned low level life and hard financial situation the bulk of the population.

Despite the real statistics. Historically, the more children, the richer the family and childbearing was encouraged. Until the 1980s, the birth rate was 5.68, and the share of Chinese on the planet was 25%. In just 20 years, this figure fell to 1.75, and in 2014 the ratio of Chinese to foreign citizens was 18.5%.

Let's sum it up

The consistently high population growth in China is associated with an increase in the birth rate and an increase in life expectancy. You can compare: if in 1950 the average Chinese lived 35 years, then in 2018 - 73 years. This was facilitated by the following factors:

• enterprise development and economic recovery;
• raising the level of healthcare;
• state health insurance.

The government is implementing policies to control China's birth rate and population growth, and it is producing results. But at the same time new problems arise:

• sharp aging of the nation;
• disproportion between men and women.

It is actually difficult to calculate how many Chinese live in cities and villages. Indeed, because of the birth control policy, citizens often looked for ways to circumvent the laws and hid their children and sent them to villages. They grew up without documents.

Today China is a relatively young country:

• average age – 34 years;
• 70% of people of working age are 16 – 65 years old;
• number of working citizens – 800 million.

Although the birth rate is quite low - thanks to the general a large number The number of citizens will grow and in 2030 will reach a historical maximum. Since the rate of aging in China is quite high, by 2050 the country will have more than 32% of retirees.

This picture suggests that China is on the verge of exhausting its demographic resources. Thanks to a large number active working population, the state and enterprises had a source of cheap labor for many years, which made it possible to rapidly expand the economy. If the situation continues to develop in the same direction, then in a few decades China’s export potential may be exhausted, which means China’s foreign economic relations will come into question.

Analysts suggest that information about the billions of people living in China People's Republic– this is nothing more than a myth and the data is somewhat exaggerated. It is based on calculations and comparison of the number of people and the current level of agricultural production. No one can reliably say what the real demographic situation is in Asian countries and how inflated the numbers are. All statistics are provided by Chinese organizations, so there is doubt about their reliability. Whether it’s a myth or reality, every fifth inhabitant of the Earth is Chinese.