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Yunnan's population by the numbers

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The Chinese government released it's first comprehensive census data in five years this week, reflecting data gathered between 2010 and 2015. A scroll through the basic numbers shows the county's population continues to increase, but at an average incremental rate of less than 0.5 percent. The newly released figures reflect a multi-year trend of largely plateaued growth that began in 2006.

China now has an estimated population of 1,339,720,000 inhabitants, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (中国国家统计局), approximately 47,368,000 of whom reside in Yunnan. Over the course of the past five years, the provincial population increased by 1.4 million, the majority of the growth occurring in urban areas. One other interesting tidbit from the provincial census is the ratio of men to women, which currently sits at 51.5:48.5. Below are some of the more important demographic splits for Yunnan's diverse group of inhabitants.

Age makeup

• People ages 0-14: 8.427 million
• People ages 15-64: 34.792 million
• People ages 65 and above: 4.149 million

Educational breakdown

In general, the number of people who have received secondary, high school and university educations are climbing in Yunnan, although very slowly. Only six percent of provincial residents have received university diplomas. One other slightly disturbing statistic shows the number of children matriculating through primary school dropped over the previous five year period.

• Total Yunnan residents who have finished primary school: 20.06 million
• Total Yunnan residents who have finished middle school: 13.87 million
• Total Yunnan residents who have finished high school: 4.56 million
• Total Yunnan residents who have finished college or university: 3.42 million

Urban/rural split

As with provinces and administrative regions across the country, the population of Yunnan is increasingly living in cities, although rural residents still outnumber them. The combined urban population of the province's major cities and towns grew at an annual rate of nearly eight percent over the past five years.

• Total number of urban residents: 20.397 million
• Total number of rural residents: 26.971 million

Minority populations

Yunnan remains the most ethnically diverse region in China, but is nonetheless predominately Han. Ethnic minorities make up 33.6 percent of the province's total population. Below is a list of ethnicities whose numbers top one million.

• Yi population: 5.02 million (11 percent of provincial total)
• Hani population: 1.63 million (3.55 percent of provincial total)
• Bai population: 1.56 million (3.4 percent of provincial total)
• Dai population: 1.22 million (2.66 percent of provincial total)
• Zhuang population: 1.21 million (2.64 percent of provincial total)
• Miao population: 1.2 million (2.62 percent of provincial total)

Prefectural and municipal populations

• Baoshan (保山市): 2.578 million
• Chuxiong (楚雄州): 2.73 million
• Dali (大理州): 3.54 million
• Dehong (德宏州): 1.277 million
• Diqing (迪庆州): 4.07 million
• Honghe (红河州): 4.645 million
• Kunming (昆明市): 6.67 million
• Lijiang (丽江市): 1.279 million
• Lincang (临沧市): 2.507 million
• Nujiang (怒江州) 0.541 million
• Pu'er (普洱市) 2.602: million
• Qujing (曲靖市): 6.042 million
• Wenshan (文山州): 3.603 million
• Xishuangbanna (西双版纳州): 1.163 million
• Yuxi (玉溪市): 2.360 million
• Zhaotong (昭通市) 5.424 million

Image: Wordpress
Graph: Sevan Golnazarian

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Comments

Think you've not quite written what you meant about the population of people with ONLY an elementary education, as you say it is 'slightly disturbing'.

Patrick
Thanks much - great demographic info update!

Maybe your next article (assuming the census updated that info) can be on the various GDP per capita ratios?

Are you sure the Hui don't top one million? I seem to remember hearing they were the largest or second largest minority group in the province

@Alien just a terribly worded sentence on my part. It should read: "One other slightly disturbing statistic shows the number of children matriculating through primary school dropped over the previous five year period."

The article has been changed.

@Xiefei I'll double check.

@scally: I just did, and it looks like the Hui are actually still under a million

Mr. Scally all is well with education in Yunnan. At least with the numbers at hand.

Students educated through primary school did drop per 100,000 population. But the uneducated (zero to less than primary school) also dropped from 14,978 per 100,000 in 2010 to 11,501 per 100,000 in 2015. The uneducated population declined from 6.88 to 5.45 million, or from 15.0% to 11.5% with a total population increase of 1.4 million or 3.05%.

Given the larger population with at least a primary school level of education, 2.8 million increase, the total population increase of 1.4 million, and the general population gentrification, the per 100,000 population rate of those with at least a primary school education would be expected to decline. If fact, the rate decline coupled with the shift in population demographics is impressive. More kids are being educated to higher levels even though the ratio looks bad.

As the great Milton Mann once told me, "Kid, you can't eat percentages."

Thanks for the update. I believe Diqing should be .407 million, not 4.07 million.

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