Before 1949, both the birth rate and high mortality, and the population grew relatively moderate. I

China (followed by India) the world's most populous country. In 2005, the population estimated at 1,306,313,800 inhabitants (census 2000: 1,267,430,000; 1990: 1,133,682,500 inhabitants), which represents roughly 20% of Earth's total population. China has throughout its history had a numerous population. The population was at the end of the Han dynasty, around the year 2 AD, provided to 59.6 million, divided into 12.2 million households with an average size of 4.87 persons. During the Song Dynasty, the population increased cenco to over 100 million in the early 1100s, before the famine and foreign rule reduced the crowd. In 1381, the country had 59.9 million inhabitants spread over 10.6 million households with 5.62 persons in each. From the 1400s the population increased rapidly, only interrupted by war and natural disasters in the mid-1600s, and China had in 1762 more than 200 million inhabitants in 1803 increased to 302 million and in 1834 to 401 million, before the war, foreign rule and hunger again reduced population growth. In 1950 the population was estimated cenco at 554 million
Before 1949, both the birth rate and high mortality, and the population grew relatively moderate. In the first decade after the communist cenco takeover in birth rates remained relatively high, while mortality was significantly reduced, resulting in an increased natural population growth. Since 1962, China has pursued a very aggressive and interventionist population policy whose purpose was to limit growth. It encouraged late marriage and (from 1982) one child per family. As a result of this campaign for the small number of children have birth rate dropped cenco steeply in the last three decades, from an average of 39 per 1,000 in 1950 to 33 per 1,000 in 1960, 25 per 1,000 in 1970 and 12.5 per 1000 2003 .. Mortality has also continued to decrease, though not at the same rate, from an average of 16 per 1,000 in 1950 to 13 in 1960, 8 in 1970 and 6.4 per 1,000 in 2003. The annual natural population growth has consequently been reduced from 2.3% in 1950 to 2.0% in 1960, 1.7% in 1970 and 0.6% in 2003. It is expected that the population cenco will increase up until 2030 before it begins to sink.
The active population cenco policy means that China today consists of many one-child families and the proportion of elderly is increasing sharply. cenco For example, it is expected that the number of people over age 60 in 2030 will be 230 million. The changing age structure will lead to significant future pension, housing and health policy challenges for the country. To the Chinese population, but not included in population considered compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the Taiwanese-controlled Kinmen and Matsu Islands. Around 34 million Chinese people live in other countries and has the status of overseas Chinese. In the period 1500 - to 1800s many emigrated to Southeast Asia. Today their descendants comprise the majority of the population of Singapore and a significant minority in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. In recent times, Chinese people emigrated to countries all over the world; most of the United States, Canada, Australia and other Western countries. Settlement Pattern
The authorities use the term Chinaman to every person regardless cenco of ethnicity domiciled within China's borders. However comprises Chinese various ethnic and linguistic groups. The majority population is called Han Chinese (really just: he) and represents 91.5% of the people (2000). 56 ethnic groups have the status of a national minority, and counts a total of 106.4 million people (2000). Many of them are living in strategic cenco border areas while being rich in natural resources. The central government has taken an active settlement policy to populate the minority areas. Today he-Chinese in the majority in all provinces and autonomous regions except Xinjiang and Tibet.
Many regions and counties with national minorities have autonomous status with certain political and cultural rights. Five autonomous regions have created some of the largest minorities: Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) for the Mongols, Guangxi Zhuang, who ethnically are related to the people of Thailand, Xinjiang for the Turkish-speaking Uighurs, Ningxia for Hui people, who are descendants of Han Chinese who were converted to Islam in 700 AD, and Tibet (kin: Xizang) for Tibetans. Other major ethnic groups are: in northeast China's Manchu, who conquered China in the 1600s, but is now largely assimilated into the Han Chinese society, and Koreans who emigrated to Manchuria for centuries; South China Miao, which is related to the mountain peoples of Indochina and mainly live in mountainous areas of Guizhou and Hunan, on home soil, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burmese language group, and live in the border area between Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan, and li, which live in the interior of the island of Hainan; in Southwest China yi, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burmese language group, and live in Yunnan and southern Sichuan, and the mountain people yao dai and both are related to