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The
country also made steady progress in promoting new urbanization, with
901.99 million people living in urban areas on the mainland, accounting
for 63.89 percent of the total population. There were also changes in the data-collection methods used in the census last year. Electronic
data collection was adopted for the first time, allowing real-time
reporting. Residents were also allowed to document their information
online themselves. Big data and cloud
technology, services and applications were used in data processing,
improving the efficiency and quality of the census. LOOKING FORWARD As
China enters the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the country
has to cope with various issues in order to achieve high-quality growth,
including a slower rate of population growth and an increasing elderly
population. The average annual
population growth rate from 2010 to 2020 stood at 0.53 percent, slightly
lower than the 0.57 percent recorded from 2000 to 2010, according to
the NBS. Ning said the slight
decrease in the annual growth rate was due to a mix of factors,
including a continued drop in the number of women of childbearing age,
couples delaying having children, and the rising cost of childbearing
and parenting. "This is an objective
outcome of China's economic development, particularly as the country's
industrialization and urbanization reaches a certain stage," he said,
noting that it is a universal issue and particularly evident in
developed countries. He expects
China's population to stay above 1.4 billion "for a certain period in
the future," citing positive factors that will continue to support
future growth. "China's population will peak in the future, but there remains uncertainty as to exactly when it will happen," Ning said. According
to the latest census data, Chinese people aged 60 or above accounted
for 18.7 percent of the country's total population in 2020, 5.44
percentage points higher than in 2010. An
aging population is an important trend of social development, and it
will be China's basic national condition for a long time, said Ning. He
said China's increasing elderly population will reduce supply in the
labor force, while increasing the burden on families' elderly care and
the pressure on the supply of basic public services. But
it can also promote the development of the "silver economy," expand the
consumption of products and services for the elderly, and boost
technical advances, he said. China
will make overall plans and take specific measures to address its aging
population as a major national strategy now and for a period of time in
the future, said Ning, adding that in-depth data analysis will be
carried out to provide statistical support for policy-making.
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