23-4 Main Indicators of Population
Item	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Mid-year Population① (10 000 persons)	643.6	648.9	654.4	660.7	666.5
Crude Birth Rate① (‰)	9.9	9.1	8.1	7.8	8.1
Crude Death Rate① (‰)	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.1
Infant Mortality Rate (‰)	4.1	3.9	3.2	3.1	3.0
Rate of Natural Increase① (‰)	4.8	4.2	3.1	2.7	3.1
Total Fertility Rate①②③	1166	1095	990	965	1024
Registered Marriages (couple)	37045	37593	31673	31287	30879
Divorce Decrees (couple)	9473	10492	13129	13408	13048
Expectation of Life at Birth① (years)
Male	76.1	76.4	76.3	76.7	77
Female	81.7	81.8	81.7	81.8	82.2
Notes: ①Population figures presented in this table may be different from those presented in earlier editions of this Yearbook. The same applies to
other statistics which in the process of their compilation have involved the use of population figures. The differences may be due to one
or both of the following reasons :
1. The change in the approach for compiling population figures since August 2000.
2. The availability of up-to-date benchmark population data based on the results of the 2001 Population Census.
For details, please see Note III in the "Brief Introduction" of this chapter.
②Per 1000 women aged 15-49.
③These figures have been compiled using a population denominator which has excluded female foreign domestic helpers.