How many people live in China in 2025?
Mainland China counted 1.40828 billion residents at the end of 2024. Births inched higher for the first time since 2016, but deaths still outpaced deliveries. Use these numbers to brief teams, plan demand, and understand where the population is heading.
What changed in the latest release
Natural decline slows
The population shrank by 1.39 million—half the drop in 2023—because Dragon Year sentiment and local incentives encouraged more births.
Urban share crosses 67%
Over 12 million people gained urban hukou status. High-speed rail links and city talent schemes continue to pull residents into mega regions.
Aging accelerates
297 million people are aged 60+. Expect healthcare, wellness tourism, and pension services to remain top-of-mind for policy makers.
Global rank stays #2
China still accounts for 17% of the world’s population, second only to India (~1.43B). International datasets mirror NBS numbers.
Where people are concentrated
Guangdong · Pearl River Delta
127M residents anchored by Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, and Dongguan. Cross-border flows with Hong Kong/Macau keep headcounts high.
- Manufacturing + tech + live events
- Air corridor: CAN · SZX · HKG
Yangtze River Delta
Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing create a 120M+ mega region. Highest outbound travel spend and premium hospitality demand.
- HSR triangle G60 corridor
- Luxury retail & business travel
Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei
110M residents with political capital, Olympic legacy venues, and heavy industry belts in Hebei. Drives meetings, sports, and government travel.
- Multiple airports: PEK, PKX, TSN
- Events align with policy calendar
Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle
96M residents in western China’s fastest-growing mega region. Popular for tech migration, food tourism, and lifestyle relocations.
- Strong Tier 2 consumption growth
- Sichuan Airlines & HSR expansion
Zoom into China’s population corridors
Markers highlight mega clusters and provincial heavyweights. Use them to sketch logistics, event routes, or marketing coverage.
Legend
- Mega region (80M+)
- Provincial capital
Turn the numbers into action
Travel operators
Metro ridership, hotel demand, and attraction throughput mirror population weight. Focus on mega regions plus rising provincial capitals like Xi’an and Changsha.
Open our city index →Consumer brands
Tier 2 cities inland still grow, but the bulk of spending concentrates in the Pearl and Yangtze Deltas. Build activation plans around the 30-city core before scaling nationwide.
See WeChat mini-program tactics →Investors & policy teams
Aging demographics squeeze labour supply and raise service costs. Budget for eldercare, healthcare, and automation when forecasting capital projects.
Check the cost guide →Frequently asked questions
How often is the population data refreshed?
The National Bureau of Statistics updates headline population figures every January in its Statistical Communiqué. The next release, covering 2025, will arrive in January 2026.
Does this include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan?
No. The 1.40828 billion figure refers to mainland China. Adding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan lifts the combined total to about 1.45 billion.
Are there credible forecasts for 2025 and beyond?
UN and World Bank projections suggest a gradual decline through the 2030s. We treat them as scenario inputs rather than certified facts.
How does migration factor into these numbers?
The headline figure counts mainland residents. China also tracks a “floating population” of roughly 385 million people living away from their registered hometowns; they are included in the total.
Sources and methodology
- National Bureau of Statistics of China – 2024 Statistical Communiqué on National Economic and Social Development (released January 2025).
- Seventh National Population Census (2020) and follow-up sample surveys.
- Provincial statistical yearbooks for Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Sichuan (2024 release cycle).
- United Nations World Population Prospects 2022 revision for comparative modelling.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 people. We cross-check NBS announcements with provincial bureau releases and international datasets. National totals take precedence; city-level estimates include confidence bands in our internal dashboards.
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urbanisation rate | 67.0% | 66.2% | Greater reliance on metro, HSR, and QR payments in cities. |
| Median age | 39.5 | 39.0 | Ageing pushes medical and wellness services into itineraries. |
| Fertility rate | 1.15 | 1.09 | Dragon-Year incentives gave a temporary lift—decline likely resumes. |
| Floating population | ≈385M | ≈384M | Migrants still power service jobs; Tier 2 hubs gain talent fastest. |