Population Situation
Updated: 2008-04-29 11:01
Size and Distribution
Henan has a total population of 92.43 million in 1997, the largest in China. The population density is high; the distribution is uneven. There are less in the western parts, and more in the east. The proportion of city population is low. Minority population increases quickly; its proportion has been rising.
Population History
The process of population development in Henan can be divided into 5 periods since the establishment of the PRC:
1949~1958 was the period of fast population increase, about 850 thousands increase annually; the 1st peak of fertility in Henan since 1949 was observed;
1962~1973 was the period of over-speed increase with an annual rate of 27.65‰, average 1.43 million increase annually; the 2nd peak of fertility was observed;
1974~1977 the speed of increase slowed down, 1.1 million increase annually;
1978~1985 was the period of steady increase with an annual rate of 14.17‰, and 1.11 million increase annually;
1986~1990 population increased fast, the annual increase rate was 19.33‰, average 1.6 million increase annually.
Population Structure by Sex and Age
The sex ratio of Henan population is normal on the whole. But it is higher in low age group. In the year of 1997, population of age 0~14 made 26.72% of the total; 15~64 made 66.44% of the total; and population of age 65 and above made 6.84%. The total dependency ratio was 50.51%, with the ratio of children 40.22%. The proportion of children decreases and labor population goes up, such an age structure is beneficial to population and economic development.
Fertility Level and Changes
Fertility changes of Henan population experienced 2 peaks and 2 troughs. At present, it is in the 3rd peak of birth. An obvious fertility difference exists between different age groups and between rural and urban. Fertility before legal marriage age was low. Fertility pattern changed from almost natural to controlled. According to projection, the size of natural increase population will decrease gradually. Negative population increase will appear before the middle of next century. Total population will still increase in the province, but will not go beyond 0.13 billion.
Mortality and Life Expectancy
Mortality changes of Henan population experienced 4 periods: sharp-decrease period, fluctuated period, slow decrease period and steady period. The mortality curve changed from U-shaped to J-shaped pattern. Infant mortality had gone down quickly; labor population mortality is low on the whole; old population mortality is high. The mortality rates in different areas are quite different.
After the founding of new China, the average life expectancy raised rapidly with sharp decrease of mortality rate. Life expectancy was 69.96 years old in the 90’s. Female’s life expectancy is higher than that of male in every age group. There are differences of life expectancy between rural and urban. The major causes of death among adults are cancer and heart disease.
Marriage Status, Family Size and Type
Marriage of Henan population is stable; majority population is in marriage status; only a few divorced and the proportion of divorced population is low. There was more widowed female than male among the population of 40 years old and above; the difference enlarged as age increases.
The increase of family size was faster than the increase of family household before 1980’s, then was slower after 1980’s. Family type is the same between rural and urban on the whole; the majority is nuclear family. Family becomes smaller and smaller.
Aging of Population
The aging process in Henan is fast; and the speed of rural population aging was faster than urban population. In 1997, population of age 65 and above was 6.322 million, made 6.84% of the total. According to projection, 1990~2009 is the period of aging initiation; 2010~2030 will be the period of speeding up of aging; 2031~2050 will be the peak period of aging. In 2050, total aged population will be 28.35 million in the province, makes 24.4% of the total population.
Population Quality
Educational undertaking in Henan province has made great progress since 1949. Illiteracy population is declining and other education level population is increasing. In 1997, the total population of illiteracy was 10.08 million, illiteracy ratio was 14.88‰. Education level of employed population in service industry is higher than in secondary industry, and secondary industry higher than primary industry; male higher than female; and urban higher than rural.
Education level of Henan population is low on the whole; illiteracy population is relatively large with new entrants.
Migration and Population Floating
With reform development, migration size and mobility size has been enlarged. The proportion of in-migration caused by marriage has been decreased, but the one caused by finding job or doing business has been increased, the sex ratio of migrants has been changed a lot, their education level improved. Among the in-migration population, the proportion work in agriculture declined. The main reasons of mobility are finding job, doing business, and training, the mobility population mainly are the people of age 18~35 who graduated from junior secondary school or senior secondary school. In-migration size is small and the proportion of in-migration caused by finding job or doing business is also small because Henan is a less developed province. Migration pattern will not change in the following years.
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