Floating Population Increase and Its Influence on the Urban Population Situation: A Case Study in Beijing

Floating population is a special population group in China resulting from the implementation of household registration system. This paper uses a set of floating population survey data, population censuses data and statistical data to analyze the increase and influence of floating population on the urban population situations in Beijing. It is found that Beijing has experienced a rapid increase of floating population since the 1990s and that the increase of this group has become the key factor of the current population expansion in the city. Its distribution in the urban regions intensified and extended the suburbanization process of the capital. In addition, the population structures of sex, age, education and employment in Beijing have changed to some extent due to the influx of floating population.