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China census: Xinjiang’s population jumps 18.3 per cent over past decade as sprawling XPCC conglomerate expands operations
- Xinjiang has one of the fastest growing populations in China, jumping 18.3 per cent between 2010 and 2020
- The sprawling Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) has been a major driver of population growth, employing 3.25 million people in 2019
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The population in China’s far western province of Xinjiang grew more than 18 per cent over the past decade, one of the fastest growth rates among the nation’s 31 provincial level jurisdictions, according to the latest national census.
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The number of people living in Xinjiang was 25.9 million last year, up 2.5 per cent from a year earlier and a jump of 18.3 per cent from 2010, census data showed.
Over the past decade, Xinjiang’s population growth fell just behind the provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong – two economic powerhouses home to a large number of migrants – as well as Tibet, which has the highest birth rate in the country.
The census data released on Tuesday did not include a breakdown by ethnic group for each province, which is expected to be published by provincial governments in coming months and included in a national census database later this year.
In the decade to 2020, the population of China’s ethnic minorities grew 10.3 per cent, while the Han majority expanded at just below 5 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Last year, Han people accounted for 91 per cent of China’s 1.412 billion people.
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