China: urban and rural population 2022 | Statista (2024)

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China: urban and rural population 2022 | Statista? ›

In 2022, about 921 million people lived in urban regions in China and 491 million in rural. That year, the country had a total population of approximately 1.41 billion people. As of 2022, China was the most populous country in the world.

In 2022, approximately 65.2 percent of the total population in China lived in cities. The urbanization rate has increased steadily in China over the last decades.

Among the national population [3], there were 901991162 persons living in urban areas, accounting for 63.89 percent (in 2020, the urbanization rate of household registered population was 45.4 percent [4]); 509787562 persons living in rural areas, accounting for 36.11 percent.

Rural population (% of total population) in China was reported at 37.49 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

More than one-half of China's population is urban, up from less than one-fourth in 1975. While the urban-rural proportion is relatively low compared with more highly industrialized countries, it represents an enormous number of people—comparable to the total population of North America.

Urbanization Rate in China

China had an urbanization rate of 1.76% in 2021. The indicator recorded a year-on-year decline of 5.4% in 2021. Between 2010 and 2021, the indicator decreased by 37.4%. The urbanization rate in China was highest in the year 2010 and lowest in the year 2021, between 2010 and 2021.

In 2022, about 921 million people lived in urban regions in China and 491 million in rural.

China has seen a massive increase in urban population since the start of the open and reform policy in the late 1970s. The numbers increased from 172 million urbanites in 1978 to 749 million in 2014; from less than 20% of the population to over 50%.

Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America, consists of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one in five residents (17.9% of the total U.S. population), live in rural America.

Where does 90% of China's population live? ›

94% of China's population lives east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line. West of the line: 57% of the area; only 6% of the population. East of the line: 43% of the area; 94% of the population. The line roughly demarcates historic Han China from territories occupied by force.

Rural population, percent - Country rankings

The average for 2021 based on 196 countries was 39.3 percent. The highest value was in Papua New Guinea: 86.54 percent and the lowest value was in Bermuda: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021.

Urban areas make up only 3 percent of the entire land area of the country but are home to more than 80 percent of the population. Conversely, 97 percent of the country's land mass is rural but only 19.3 percent of the population lives there. For more, go to Defining Rural at the U.S. Census Bureau - Opens as PDF.

Overpopulation in China began after World War II in 1949, when Chinese families were encouraged to have as many children as possible in hopes of bringing more money to the country, building a better army, and producing more food.

United States vs China by population

China and the United States are the most and 3rd most populous country in the world, respectively. China and the United States together account for about 22.7% of the total world population.

While the 2022 WPP puts the Chinese population at 1.43 billion people, I estimate that it is now smaller than 1.28 billion. Moreover, according to the WPP, there were 28.2 million births in China in 1990 and 17.4 million in 2000.

Despite the increase in the urban population, urban areas, defined as densely developed residential, commercial, and other nonresidential areas, now account for 80.0% of the U.S. population, down from 80.7% in 2010.

Henan is the top region by rural population in China.

Shanghai — 23.4 million people

Shanghai is the undisputed most populous and wealthiest city in China.

Who has the highest urbanization rate? ›

Hong Kong is 100% urbanized. Editorial credit: ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com. Since times immemorial, most of the world's peoples have lived in rural areas. As late as 1950, only around 30 percent of the total world population lived in urban areas.

The life expectation of the female population a birth is 73.59 years in urban areas and 72.46 in rural areas. Male life expectancy is 69.73 years in urban areas and 58.99 in rural areas.

While the transformation of China's rural economy is indisputable, there remain many challenges, which government policy has sought to address. Farm size is small and agricultural productivity remains low.

There are also 5 language families in China, with the Han language being the most popular. About 96.31% of the Chinese population is distributed in the eastern half of the country, and only 3.69% are distributed in the southwest, northwest, and northern frontiers.

China's rural-to-urban population movement is largely viewed as a response to the economic reform, and better employment opportunities in destination cities have generally been the main determinant in the decision to migrate.

Lack of employment opportunities has increasingly made life in many rural regions difficult, hence the apparent enticement to resettle in urban areas. Of course, jobs are still limited, so many do relocate in cities only to find prospects much more meager than they had expected.

The 1920 census marked the first time in which over 50 percent of the U.S. population was defined as urban.

More than 46 million Americans, or 15 percent of the U.S. population, live in rural areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than their urban counterparts.

Today, there are 46 million rural residents, which is just 14 percent of the U.S. total. This is the smallest percentage of the population to reside in rural areas in U.S. history. Though population declines were widespread, rural America became more racially and ethnically diverse over the past decade.

Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. The most rural place in the United States is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in Central Alaska. This swath of territory covers a whopping 145,505 square miles—about the same size as all of Montana.

What percent of Americans live in China? ›

An estimate published in 2018 counted 600,000 people of other nations living in China, with 12% of those from the US; that means approximately 72,000 Americans living in China.

And although China is also the third largest country by landmass, 94 percent of people in the country live on just 43 percent of the land.

China has also become a more liveable country. It has planted a quarter of the world's new forest in the past decade, while carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product have fallen by 34 per cent. Mountains have become greener, rivers and lakes cleaner, and skies bluer.

The lowest rural population rates are found in some of the smallest countries in the world and city-states and areas, such as Gibraltar, Monaco, and Singapore, where the whole population lives in urban areas. Apart from these, Qatar is the country with the lowest rural population rate in the world.

India has the largest rural population (893 million), followed by China (578 million).

Among Countries having a population above 100 mn, Japan (91.87%) is highly urbanized, and Ethiopia (22.17%) is the least urbanized. Thirty-two countries/regions have achieved urbanization above 90%, and 68 have above 80%.

While there wasn't much of a difference in the percentage of business ownership, rural Americans had higher amounts of wealth concentrated there, representing about one-third of their total assets, compared to roughly 22% for their urban counterparts.

Texas is still the nation's clear-cut No. 1 for the largest rural population. But it also has the second-highest urban population of 24,400,697, behind California and ahead of Florida. As a percentage of overall population, Texas is 83.7% urban, making it the nation's 15th most urban.

China is one of the largest countries in the world by population and landmass, with over 1.4 billion citizens and 9.6 million kilometers of land. Overpopulation in China has resulted in the difficulty to sustain a quality of living that a majority of citizens would prefer.

Why is China losing population? ›

China's population decline can be traced back to the restrictive family-planning policies launched in the 1970s and an impressive economic boom fueled by China's huge labor force. China's modernization brought rapid urbanization, rising income levels, and better education to large parts of the country.

When did the one-child policy end? The end of China's one-child policy was announced in late 2015, and it formally ended in 2016. Beginning in 2016, the Chinese government allowed all families to have two children, and in 2021 all married couples were permitted to have as many as three children.

Lower literacy rates are found mostly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The world's largest ethnic group is Han Chinese, constituting over 19% of the global population in 2011. In terms of the largest number of native speakers, Mandarin is the world's most spoken language.

China's population is, in fact, already declining.

Over the next three centuries, with the expansion of rice cultivation in central and south China, the country's food supply steadily grew, allowing its population to grow as well. By 1100, the population reached 100 million. China was certainly the largest country in the world at the time.

Race & Ethnicity

The largest China racial/ethnic groups are White (96.9%) followed by Hispanic (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).

China's birthrate has declined for the first time in decades, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday, a shift that experts say could influence the global economy. The world's most populous country had 1.41175 billion people in 2022, a drop of 850,000 compared with 2021.

The rapid expansion of China's population from 1949 to the late 1970s stoked the flames of neo-Malthusian demographers.

In 2022, urban population for Japan was 92 %. Urban population of Japan increased from 74.2 % in 1973 to 92 % in 2022 growing at an average annual rate of 0.44%.

How many urban people are in the US in 2022? ›

Consequently, the total urban population has increased modestly in 2022, reaching an estimated 276.2 million people.

Despite the increase in the urban population, urban areas, defined as densely developed residential, commercial, and other nonresidential areas, now account for 80.0% of the U.S. population, down from 80.7% in 2010.

Tokyo is the world's largest city by urban area and metropolitan area.

However, China leads when it comes to land area compared with the U.S. World Atlas says China is approximately 2% larger than the U.S. in terms of land area.

The inflow of foreign direct investment created massive employment opportunities, which fostered urban population growth.

U.S. urban population for 2021 was 275,050,303, a 0.37% increase from 2020. U.S. urban population for 2020 was 274,032,053, a 1.22% increase from 2019. U.S. urban population for 2019 was 270,737,596, a 0.7% increase from 2018. U.S. urban population for 2018 was 268,844,029, a 0.77% increase from 2017.

Germany urban population for 2021 was 64,513,567, a 0.16% increase from 2020. Germany urban population for 2020 was 64,410,589, a 0.18% increase from 2019. Germany urban population for 2019 was 64,294,010, a 0.31% increase from 2018.

Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America, consists of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one in five residents (17.9% of the total U.S. population), live in rural America.

As of 2021, White Americans are the racial majority, with non-Hispanic whites representing 59.3% of the population. Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest ethnic minority, comprising 18.9% of the population, while Black Americans are the largest racial and the second largest ethnic minority, making up 12.6%.

What is the urban population of Russia? ›

Russia urban population for 2021 was 107,492,288, a 0.19% decline from 2020. Russia urban population for 2020 was 107,700,434, a 0.01% decline from 2019. Russia urban population for 2019 was 107,708,298, a 0.16% increase from 2018. Russia urban population for 2018 was 107,539,205, a 0.18% increase from 2017.

The highest urban population in India is in the state of Maharashtra.