China's Population

I never really gave much thought about China's demography, especially in relationship of urban vs. farming populations.

I happen to live in a rural county, largely farming. For over a century it has seen an exodus of citizens to urban areas. I wonder on the local level how people feel about this.

Most Chinese Are Now Urban Dwellers

China has announced that people living in its towns and cities now outnumber those in the countryside, making it a predominantly urban nation for the first time in Chinese civilization.


The historic milestone spotlights a trend that China's government says will be a key driver of economic growth over the next two decades as hundreds of millions more people move into urban areas in search of higher-paying jobs.

But it also points to the challenges facing Chinese leaders as mass migration places an increasing strain on urban housing, transport and welfare, while fueling pollution, social unrest and demands for political reform.

Urban dwellers account for 51.27% of China's entire population of nearly 1.35 billion—or a total of 690.8 million people—the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.


Wall Street Journal