INTERPRETING SPATIAL PATTERNS FROM THE 1990 CHINA CENSUS

Population in China expanded rapidly during the 1980s, despite a modest birthrate and declines in fertility rates and family size. Economic reform led to fast economic growth and increased mobility, which resulted in divergent regional rates of population growth. Southern coastal provinces and the minority regions of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Ningxia have the highest rates. Population is heavily concentrated in eastern China, where densities have increased steadily during the socialist period. Approximately one-quarter of the population lives in urban centers. Despite the enforcement of draconian measures to reduce population growth, China will probably have 1.3 billion people by 2000. -Authors