Preliminary Results of the 1982 Census in China

The State Statistical Bureau of China announced in October 1982 the preliminary results of the 1982 census. It was revealed that the population of China including Taiwan was 1026503884 persons. The 1982 census differed from the 1953 and 1964 Chinese censuses in 2 ways: coverage of demographic variables was much broader and modern census taking techniques including computers were used. During the past 3 years the State Statistical Bureau released countrywide population totals and vital rates for various years that had not previously been available to the public. Some observations are offered about the preliminary census results from 1982 and when possible comparisons are made between the newly released data and earlier statistics from Chinese authorities. Pretests were conducted in 1980 and 1981 in 24 mainland provinces. Approximately 3.6 million persons were enumerated in these pretests. The results indicated that the quality of the pretest was excellent and consequently no major changes were made in the design of the questionnaire for the full census. The October 1982 communique indicated that the quality of the census enumeration also was excellent. The 1982 census covers a wider range of demographic data than found in the 1953 and 1964 censuses. The 1982 census gathered information in 19 demographic categories 13 of which were related to individuals and 6 of which focused on households. The communique marked the completion of the 1st stage. The total figure of 1026503884 included the 18270749 residents of Taiwan. Compared to the 1953 total of 590.2 million including 7.6 million on Taiwan China gained 436.4 million people or an increase of 73.9% in 29 years. The rate of increase since 1964 was not constant. In terms of sex composition in the 1982 census males accounted for 51.5% of the mainland population females 48.5%. The sex ratio was 106.3 to 100. The government formally recognizes 56 nationalities of which the dominant Han or Chinese accounted for 93.3% of the 1982 population. The other 55 nationalities made up 6.7% of the population. This sum had grown 22% since 1978. The minority growth rate of 68.4% was much higher than the Han rate of 43.8%. In 1981 there were 20689704 births and 6290103 deaths. The birth and death rates were respectively 20.91 and 6.36/1000; the rate of natural increase was 14.55/1000 population. The 1982 communique reported that 20.6% of the mainland population or 206.6 million persons lived in cities. Official population data for the provinces autonomous regions and municipalities of China are now available for the years 1953 1978 1980 and 1982. 3 family planning campaigns have been undertaken since the 1953 census. A new policy urging each couple to have only 1 child was introduced in 1979 but this policy has not been as effective in rural areas.