By the end of 2018, the total population of mainland China was 1,395.38 million (including the population of 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and servicemen in CPLA and excluding residents in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan). China’s population grew by an increase of 5.30 million in 2018, the slowest since 1961.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) issued a warning that China’s population could start to shrink as soon as 2027 if its fertility rate remains at the current level of about 1.6. According to Singapore media Channel NewsAsia, China’s population is set to reach a peak of 1.442 billion in 2029 and start a long period of “unstoppable” decline in 2030.
In 2018, the number of births was 15.23 million with a birth rate of 10.94 per thousand. The number of deaths was 9.93 million with a death rate of 7.13 per thousand. The natural growth rate was 3.81 per thousand.
Regarding gender, the male population was 713.51 million, and the female population was 681.87 million. The sex ratio of the total population was 104.64 (the female is 100).
Concerning age composition, the population at the working age of 16-59 was 897.29 million, accounting for 64.3% of the total population. People aged 60 and over was 249.49 million, accounting for 17.9% of the total, 166.58 million of which aged 65 and over, accounting for 11.9% of the total.
Concerning urban-rural structure, the permanent residents in urban areas were 831.37 million, an increase of 17.90 million over that at the end of last year; and the permanent residents in rural areas were 564.01 million, a decrease of 12.60 million.
The proportion of the urban population to the total population (urbanization rate) was 59.58%, 1.06 percentage points higher than that at the end of 2017.
The population who reside in areas other than their household registration and have been away from there for over six months reached 286 million, which was 4.50 million less than that at the end of 2017. Specifically, the floating population stood at 241 million, 3.78 million less than that at the end of 2017.