China Population Pyramid 1961
Year
1961China in 1961
As of 1961, China counted 655,773,486 inhabitants. A decade earlier, in 1951, the population was 553,758,247; it has grown by 18.4% since.
Half of the population was younger than 21.1 years; 40.0% were children under 15 and 3.9% were 65 or older. This is an expansive pyramid — each cohort of children is larger than the one above it, the signature of high birth rates and rapid growth.
The deep notch at the base of this pyramid records the demographic shock of the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961), when births collapsed and mortality surged.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
The fertility rate of China was 1.00 births per woman in 2023, under the 2.1 needed to replace each generation.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
A child born there in 2023 could expect to live 78.0 years on average (80.9 years for girls, 75.2 for boys).
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
1,565,013 immigrants live in China, 0.1% of the population.
| China, Hong Kong SAR | 421,605 |
| Myanmar | 367,052 |
| Taiwan | 170,422 |
| Viet Nam | 88,254 |
| Republic of Korea | 65,073 |
11,696,846 people born in China live in other countries.
| China, Hong Kong SAR | 2,490,414 |
| United States of America | 2,488,775 |
| Japan | 809,893 |
| Canada | 771,973 |
| Republic of Korea | 756,684 |
Source: United Nations International Migrant Stock 2024.
| Country | Population | Median age | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 655,773,486 | 21.1 | |
| Japan | 97,217,594 | 26.2 | |
| Republic of Korea | 26,852,951 | 19.2 | |
| Dem. People's Republic of Korea | 11,990,713 | 20.2 | |
| Taiwan | 11,453,500 | 17.8 |
