China Northeast Is Shrinking

iFeng: 14城户籍人口自然负增长：除了东北外，这些长三角城市也在列

According to incomplete statistics from a reporter from China Business News, in 2020, at least 14 cities have registered negative population growth rates, namely Shenyang, Wuxi, Huludao, Anshan, Heihe, Fushun, Weihai, Zhoushan, Taizhou, Yangzhou, and Yancheng. , Zhenjiang, Shaoxing, Changzhou.

Among them, the latest statistical bulletin of Shenyang, the only megacity in Northeast China, shows that at the end of 2020, the city has a registered population of 7.622 million. The birth rate was 6.68‰, which was 1.67 per thousand points lower than the previous year, and the sex ratio at birth was 107.1; the population mortality rate was 10.02‰, which was an increase of 1.71 per thousand points. The natural population growth rate was -3.34‰, a decrease of 3.38 thousand points.

In fact, this is not the first time that Shenyang's registered population growth rate has failed. According to the city's statistical bulletin, from 2016 to 2019, the natural growth rate of the registered population in Shenyang was 1.18‰, -2.53‰, -0.61‰, 0.04‰, respectively.

In addition to Shenyang, there are many cities in the northeast that have negative population growth rates in 2020. Among them, Huludao is -7.38‰, Anshan is -5.91‰, Heihe is -2.9‰, and Fushun has been as low as -13.3‰. And this is only the data of some cities, and there are still many northeastern cities whose registered population in 2020 has not been announced. Based on the data of 2019, the natural population growth rate of most northeastern cities has been negative.

Data show that the natural growth rate of the permanent population in Liaoning in 2019 was -0.8‰, Jilin was -0.85‰, and Heilongjiang was -1.01‰. In other words, the natural population growth rate of the entire Northeast region has been negative.

Yi Baozhong, a professor at the Northeast Asia Research Institute of Jilin University, analyzed by China Business News that the relatively low natural growth rate of the population in Northeast China is related to the outflow of young people. Due to the economic downturn, job opportunities have decreased, and many young people have flowed to the southeast coast.

Data show that the population of the three northeastern provinces are currently experiencing a net outflow. Among them, in 2019, Heilongjiang had a net outflow of 179,900 people, Jilin had a net outflow of 110,300 people, and Liaoning had a net outflow of 41,100 people.