The natural growth rate of population continued to decline. At the end of 2003, the total population of China was 1,292.27 million (Table 14). The year 2003 saw 15.99 million births, with a crude birth rate of 12.41 per thousand, and 8.25 million deaths, with a crude death rate of 6.40 per thousand. The net growth of population in 2003 was 7.74 million, representing a natural growth rate of 6.01 per thousand.
Table 14: Composition of Population, 200
10,000 persons
|
Item |
Population (year-end figure) |
Percentage (%) |
|
National Total |
129227 |
100.0 |
|
Of which: |
Urban |
52376 |
40.53 |
|
. |
Rural |
76851 |
59.47 |
|
Of which: |
Male |
66556 |
51.50 |
|
. |
Female |
62671 |
48.50 |
|
Of which: |
0-14 years |
28559 |
22.1 |
|
. |
15-64 years |
90976 |
70.4 |
|
. |
65 years and over |
9692 |
7.5 |
| 
Bilateral Visits