China People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese 91.1%, ethnic minorities 8.9% (includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)
note: the PRC officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups
Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry); note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uyghur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)
major-language sample(s):
世界概況 – 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Standard Chinese)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
folk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, Hindu
note: officially atheist
Age structure
0-14 years: 16.48% (male 124,166,174/female 108,729,429)
15-64 years: 69.4% (male 504,637,819/female 476,146,909)
65 years and over: 14.11% (2023 est.) (male 92,426,805/female 107,035,710)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 44.5
youth dependency ratio: 25.5
elderly dependency ratio: 19
potential support ratio: 5.3 (2021 est.)
note: data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
Median age
total: 38.4 years
male: 37.5 years
female: 39.4 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
0.18% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
9.69 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Population distribution
overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many other countries in Asia and Europe; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang
Urbanization
urban population: 64.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
note: data do not include Hong Kong and Macau
Major urban areas - population
29.211 million Shanghai, 21.766 million BEIJING (capital), 17.341 million Chongqing, 14.284 million Guangzhou, 14.239 million Tianjin, 13.073 million Shenzhen (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
23 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 6.49 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.93 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78.23 years
male: 75.5 years
female: 81.2 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.45 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.69 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
84.5% (2017)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 97.3% of population
rural: 91.5% of population
total: 95.1% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.7% of population
rural: 8.5% of population
total: 4.9% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
5.6% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
2.23 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
Hospital bed density
4.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 97.6% of population
rural: 90.6% of population
total: 94.9% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.4% of population
rural: 9.4% of population
total: 5.1% of population (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, severe fever thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS)
soil contact diseases: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
6.2% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 4.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 25.6% (2020 est.)
male: 49.4% (2020 est.)
female: 1.7% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
2.4% (2013)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
75.9% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
3.6% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.8%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.2% (2018)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 14 years (2015)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 11.4%
male: 12.1%
female: 10.4% (2021 est.)
People - note
in October 2015, the Chinese Government announced that it would change its rules to allow all couples to have two children, loosening a 1979 mandate that restricted many couples to one child; the new policy was implemented on 1 January 2016 to address China’s rapidly aging population and future economic needs
NOTE: The information regarding China on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of China 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about China 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.