Shanghai

I. Basic Figures

1. Name: Shanghai Municipality
2. Areas: 6340.5sqkm
3. Population: 13,055,000 (registered permanent residence at the end of 1997)
4. Geography: Occupying the front edge of Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai is located at 31.14°N and 121.29°E. Bordering on the East China Sea in the east, on the north by the Yangtze River, on the south by the Hangzhou Gulf, on the west it connected with Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. With a climate of marine monsoon of subtropics, Shanghai is warn and moist.
5. Nature Resources: Situated in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Shanghai has numerous channels and ditches in length and breadth. Abundant in water resources, the total capacity of water resources per year amounts to 59,920,000,000 cubic meter and the underground water is of good quality. Shanghai is a highly populated area. In its suburban rural districts, land is fully cultivated and the percentage of the farming land occupying the total is 61.1%, two times higher than the average ratio of 20% of America, whereas per capita area of cultivated farmland is only 0.38 Mu.
6. Economy: As a rather developed area, Shanghai’s total output value of 1997 is 336,021,000,000 Yuan, amounting to 4.5% of the total of China. Its gross value of industrial and agricultural outputs of the same year is 585,434,000,000 Yuan, among which gross value of industrial output is 564,993,000,000 Yuan, and the value of agriculture is 20,441,000,000Yuan. The per capita gross product is 25,750 Yuan, higher than Beijing and Tianjin, the other two municipalities directly under the central government. The total food product is 237,860,000 ton. The value of revenue of the municipality is 107,095,000,000 Yuan, occupying the 12.4% of the whole country. The handling capacity of Shanghai harbor is 16,397ton, occupying the 18.7% of the whole country. The total volume of import and export commodities is $58,683,000,000 US, occupying the 18.7% of the whole country.
7. Labor: By the end of 1997, the total number of the employed in Shanghai is 8,472,500, among which 4,352,700 were workers employed by the state. The unemployment number in urban areas of Shanghai is 149,000.In 1997, the total wage of all state employed workers amounts to 510,100,000,000 Yuan, and average wage of each in the year is 11,425 Yuan. The total input of municipal government for labor insurance allowances of both working and retired employees is 252,610,000,000 Yuan .
8. People's Life: The average income of peasantry per capita is 5,277yuan, higher than levels of Beijing and Tianjing. The average value of consumption of the whole municipality is 6,820 Yuan, while average value of consumption of rural inhabitants is 4953Yuan, and of urban inhabitants reaches 6820Yuan. Housing in Shanghai has maintained in short supply for quite a long time, comparing with situations of Tianjing and Beijing, although it is improving recently. In 1997, the average living space for each inhabitant of Shanghai is 9.3 squire meters, comparing to 14.36 of Beijing and 12.27 of Tianjing during the same period. There are 52 hospital beds and 39 medical workers for every 10,000 inhabitants of Shanghai.
9. Schools and Universities: Towards the end of 1997, there have been altogether 39 colleges and universities with students of 153,804 and teaching staff of 20,106. Shanghai also has secondary specialized schools of 98 with students of 897,047 and teaching staff of 5,956, and technical schools, vocational schools as well as common schools of 1,016 with students of 1,024,402 and teaching staff of 518,002. Shanghai has 2,533 primary schools with students of 1,024,402 and teaching staff of 518,002.

II Population Situation

1. Size and Distribution

2. Population History

3. Population Structure by Sex and Age

4. 4. Fertility Level and Changes

Shanghai Authorities began to advocate family planning as early as 1950s.After efforts of several decades, Shanghai presently has the lowest fertility throughout the country. Till the end of 1989, the fertility of Shanghai is 10.2 per thousand that is lower than 21.8 per thousand, the fertility of whole country of the same year by 10.2 per thousand. In the same period, the general birth rate of Shanghai is only 41.48 per thousand, lower than 79.53 per thousand, the average level of the whole country of the same period by 38.05 per thousand. The total fertility rate of Shanghai is 1.33 per women, and it is much lower than 2.25, the mean level of the whole country of the time. By early 1990s, Shanghai’s fertility level declined under the replacement level, and started negative growth since 1993.In 1997, the fertility is only 4.9per thousand, the natural growth rate of -2.4per thousand, and total fertility of 0.91 per women.

5. Mortality and Life Expectancy

5. Shanghai’s mortality declined sharply after the founding of the Public in 1949. It is reckoned that the mortality of the population before 1949 is around 25-39per thousand. In 1951, the mortality of Shanghai is 14.2 per thousand, while in suburban counties the death rate of19.7 per thousand is much higher, and especially the rate of infant, which is even as high as 83.93 per thousand. Nevertheless, the mortality dropped significantly to 6.1 per thousand or so during the period of 1950s-1960s. Due to the development of health care for women and children by the Government, infant mortality decreased quickly to 29.72 per thousand of 1958. Generally, throughout 1980s and 1990s, the mortality of the population stabilized around 6.2-6.7per thousand. Accompanied by the trend of aging of the population, however, a gradual increase in mortality can be observed: the mortality of 1992 is 7.1 per thousand, and till the year of 1997, up to 7.3 per thousand. The traditional U-curve of mortality of old Shanghai has transferred into the mode of modern one with a curve like J and is developing.

At the early stage after the Liberation, the life expectancy of male is only 42.0 and female 45.6.The later decades, however, were characterized by renewed strong increase in life expectancy. By the year of 1990, life expectancy at birth rose both for males and females to 73.7 and 77.8. Between 1990 to 1997, it increased for males by additional 2.02 years and for females by 1.47 years. In 1997, life expectancy at birth was 75.7 for males and 79.2 for females, which are ahead of the mean level of the world as well as levels of many median income countries and Near the levels of some most developed countries.

6. Marital Status, Family Size and Type

6. Between early 1950s- 80s, the mean age of first marriage of Shanghai remained rising, from 20.79 of 50s, 22.86 of 60s, 24.05 of 70s, to 25.60 of 80s. Then, an opposite tendency began: It declined continuously from 25.38 of 1981, 24.37 of 1987, to 23.75 of 1990. The marriage rate in 80s reached 48.93 per thousand, and after then began to decline. In 1992, the marriage rate is only 15.17%, which can neither be reckoned as the result of increase of single men and women, nor postponed mean age of first marriage of the population.

The family size of Shanghai has tended to become smaller for a time. In 1990, the average family size is 3.10 persons, while in 1997, it decreased to 3.06 persons per family, much lower than the average figure of the country, 3.64 persons per family. Directed contradicted with its housing problem, Shanghai’s households in metropolis are generally bigger than those in suburban counties. Three-generation stem families are proved to be quite stable, a phenomenon opposing situations of anywhere around the country. Nuclear family occupies the largest share of the total, about 70.5%, among which 55.8 % are consisted by one couple with children and 14.69% are only consisted by husband and wife. Three- generations- stem family occupies 20.7%. Presently, the decline of single-parents family has ceased and in 1997, the percentage of single-parents family is 8.8%.

7. Aged of Population

7. Caused mainly by fertility decline and increase of life expectancy, Shanghai has become a society of the aged. In 1997, the age group of 65 and above is 1,600,000, and the percentage of 65 and above is 12.22%. The speed of aging of Shanghai not only has exceeded German, but also Japan, a rapidly aging county in recent years. According to a projection, after a period of sharp increase of the aged population in 1990s, the course of aging of Shanghai in 21 Century would possibly consisted of three stages. In stage 1, the 1st decade of 21 Century, speed of aging of Shanghai might be greatly stagnated, while in stage 2, the 2cd and 3rd decade of 21 Century, Shanghai would experience another period of sharp aging. Nevertheless, in stage 3, approximately 4 or 5 decades after stage 2, the proportion of the aged would gradually remained stable at the level 20% or so.

The current population pyramid of Shanghai of the aged presents a shape likes a ladder, because of the existing larger proportion of the relatively younger aged, which will gradually shrink as the time passing. The pyramid also characterized by the larger part of female than male, and in age groups older, the sex ratio becomes lower. The larger part of elderly of Shanghai is distributed in urban areas. Two-thirds old persons have spouses, higher than the average level of the whole country, owing to the lower rates of divorce and widowhood.

8. Population Quality

8. As a whole, the education level of Shanghai is quite high: the total educated population in the year of 1990 is 10,720,000, occupying the 78.5% of the all, which is higher than the mean level of the country but still lower than Beijing, Tianjing and Liaoning Province. Till 1997, the figure increased to 91% and the illiteracy rate is 9.03%. In 1990, Shanghai inhabitants who have completed junior middle school make up 39.3% of the total population, holding the largest share. The persons completed primary school rank the second amounting to 28.3% and those graduated from senior middle school rank the third amounting to 24.3%. The college graduates occupy 8.4% of the total. Whereas in 1997, junior middle school graduates decreased to 37%, and primary school graduates also became shorter to 21.3%. Those completed education in senior middle school decreased to 23.8% while college graduates slightly increased to 8.9%. The imbalance of sexual percentage can be observed in all above- mentioned groups classified by education levels: the share of males is obviously larger than females. Besides, generally, urban areas have larger percent of educated people than rural do, and primary school graduates and illiterates constitute larger share among the aged than in any other age groups of Shanghai.

9. Migration and Population Floating

There were once sharp rises and falls caused by migration throughout the period from1949, the establishment of the Country, to the year of 1980. Since then, the migration rates tended to be stable with a constant bigger in-migration than out-migration, and the wave motions were much less obvious than those of prior period, with an average net in-migration figure of 39,800 each year. The main determinants for those moves are job transferring, education, and technical training. Very high sex ratio can be observed in immigrants from other provinces, and sometime males could be two times more than females, which will definitely have a continued effect on the sex ratio of future population of Shanghai. The net migration-immigrants minus emigrants of 1997 amounts 47,500, and the percentage of increase caused by immigrants is 3.6per thousand.

Additionally, the size of the drifting population of Shanghai is expanding. Based on a survey conducted on Oct. 20, 1998, the total drifting population without household registration in Shanghai Municipality has reached 1,246,000, among which 1,058,000 were moved from neighboring provinces and foreign countries, all the other from suburb counties. In 1997, economic activities, such as laboring, business affairs, etc. are explained to be the major reasons for in-migrations, amounting to 67.5%, and the non-economical activities, such as relative visit, marriage tour, and tourism, amount to 22.9%. The rest, about 4.4% of the total are found for cultural activities, such as technical training and all kinds of meetings. Moreover, international migration of Shanghai now runs the highest of China.

10.Population, Resources and Environment

Despite of some advantages like rich water resources it has and favorable geographic position it locates, Shanghai’s facing disadvantage like soil and water pollution, caused by very high population and industry density. The environment problem has been viewed as a key determinant for the social and economic development of Shanghai. At the time of the being, a thorough environmental protection project is under implementation by the local Government, and, according to a prediction, the pollution of Shanghai would be possibly controlled by 2000, and the ecological environment will significantly improved till the year of 2020.

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