Age structure
0-14 years:17.22%(male 128,270,371 /female 110,120,535)15-24 years:12.32%(male 91,443,139 /female 79,181,726)25-54 years:47.84%(male 338,189,015 /female 324,180,103)55-64 years:11.35%(male 79,340,391 /female 77,857,806)65 years and over:11.27%(male 74,277,631 /female 81,828,269)(2018 est.)
Birth rate
12.1 births/1,000 population(2018 est.)
Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
note: Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)
Life expectancy at birth
75.80
Major urban areas - population
25.582 million Shanghai, 19.618 million BEIJING (capital), 14.838 million Chongqing, 12.683 million Guangdong, 13.215 million Tianjin, 11.908 million Shenzhen
(2018)
Median age
total:37.7 yearsmale:36.8 yearsfemale:38.8 years(2018 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2018 est.)
Population distribution
overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many other countries in Asia and Europe; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang
Population growth rate
0.37%(2018 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.6 children born/woman(2018 est.)
Urbanization
rate of urbanization:
2.42% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)