Brief Introduction

I. Main Contents

Data in this chapter show the basic condition of the population from the Sixth National Population Census as well as previous years for the whole nation and 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. They include the sizes of the national population, urban population and rural population over the years; as well as size, birth rates, death rates and natural growth rates by the end of 2010. It also includes the initial aggregates from the Sixth National Population Census, such as: population by age and sex, average family household size and education attainments of the population.

II. Sources of Data

Data in this chapter are prepared by the Department of Population and Employment Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics. In tables 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3, figures 1981 (inclusive) are from household registrations; for the year 1982, 1990, 2000 and 2010 are the census year estimates; the rest of the data covered in those tables are from the annual national sample survey on population changes which have been revised according to the census results. In table 3-4, data are estimates from the Sixth National Population Census. Table 3-5 contains the major indicators of the past six population censuses. In table 3-6, data are calculated by using 1990 and 2000 census years’ results. In table 3-7 to 3-12, data are initial aggregates of the Sixth National Population Census at 0:00 a.m. on November 1^st, 2010, and comparison with the Fifth National Population Census which was conducted in 2000. In table 3-13, data are basically from the annual national sample survey on population changes which have been revised according to the census results.

Data in all the tables of this chapter do not include that from Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan unless otherwise stated. 

III. Sampling Methodology

The statistical surveys on population which are conducted by Department of Population and Employment Statistics of NBS are as follows:

The national population census is conducted in the year ending with 0; the national 1 percent population sample survey is conducted in the year ending with 5; sample surveys on population changes are conducted in the rest of the years which cover about 1 per thousand of the total population of the country. The sample survey on population change takes the whole nation as the population and each province, autonomous region or municipality as sub-populations, and the stratified multi-stage systematic PPS cluster sampling scheme is used.