22,000 Residents Leave After Overcrowding Measures Take Effect
When Beijing drops a hint that they want you to go, people listen.
22,000
permanent residents decided to leave the capital last year, local
statisticians told a press conference last week. The 0.1 percent drop in
population leaves Beijing with 21,707,000 permanent residents.
The drop-off comes after a year in which local authorities implemented several policies to combat overpopulation that included shutting down commodity markets and illegal structures, moving non-essential municipal services out of the city, and even an unsuccessful attempt to relocate elderly residents.
READ: Throwback Thursday: Every Day is an Overpopulation Party in Crowded Beijing
The last significant loss in population for the city was in 1997 when it recorded 19,400 fewer residents.
The
Beijing press conference was mirrored by a similar drop-off over in
China's other overcrowded first-tier city. Shanghai authorities reported
a 13,700 decrease in permanent residents at the end of 2017, leaving
the city with 24,183,000 people.
The two announcements signify
the first simultaneous drop in population for Beijing and Shanghai in 40
years, and are in keeping with orders by the State Council to cap the population of China's top leading cities.
According to government plans, Beijing's population is to be capped at 23 million by 2020
while Shanghai must impose a limit of 25 million residents until 2030.
The drop-off in population has long been predicted, and had already
resulted in a zero-population growth rate in 2015.
In 1978, Beijing's population was just 8.71 million people.
Meanwhile, the country's other cities continue to grow at a fast pace as China's citizens become increasingly urbanized.
As
Beijing and Shanghai's populations stagnate, Chengdu and Chongqing
steadily increase in size with the latter boasting a growth rate of 4.8
percent. Meanwhile, Guangdong cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen
continue to attract new arrivals from southern Chinese provinces like
Sichuan, Hubei, and Hebei.
Additionally, last week's Beijing
press conference also revealed that its residents are becoming richer as
signs indicate the overheated housing industry may be cooling down.
Beijing's
per capita disposable income rose 9 percent last year to 57,230 yuan
while construction for commercial housing decreased 4 percent to 12.6
million square meters.
Image: Baidu Images (br-cn.com)
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