Inner Mongolia |
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I. Basic Data |
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1. Name: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 2. Area: 1,183,000 square kilometres 3. Population: 23.76 million (2000 population census) 4. Provincial Capital: Huhehaote City 5. Geography: The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is between longitude 97° 12'-126° 04' E. and latitude 37° 24'-53° 23' N. It is China's northern frontier; in the northeast, it borders on Russia and Mongolia; internally, it borders on Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. 6. Natural Resources: Inner Mongolia's land area is the third largest in China. Its grasslands account for one fourth of China's total grassland area, and its forest area is the second largest in China. Daxinganling forest zone is one of China's and Inner Mongolia's important forest production bases. Its coal reserves are huge; it also has rich rare-earth resources, and its natural alkali reserve is the largest in the country. It also has mineral products such as asbestos and mica, among others. Its solar power and wind power resources are rich, but the province lacks water resources. 7. Economy: In 2000, the gross domestic product of Inner Mongolia was 140.101 billion Yuan, the gross industrial and agricultural output value was 180.927 billion Yuan, and the per capita gross national product was 5,872 Yuan. The total imports and exports were valued at 1,687.811 million US dollars; total provincial government revenue was 15,560 billion Yuan; the yield of grain totalled 12.4188 million tons, and the yield of grain per capita was 522.68 kg. Inner Mongolia is one of China's livestock husbandry bases, and is the biggest China's five main pastoral areas; a feature of its agricultural economy is livestock husbandry. Hetao (the Great Bend of the Yellow River), Tumochuan and Xiliaohe irrigated areas have well-developed farming. After the 1950s, on the basis of its rich natural resources and farm-animal husbandry products, Inner Mongolia's industry developed quite fast, and the province became one of the country's main iron and coal production bases. 8. People's life: By the end of 2000, the total number of employed persons were 10.616 million in Inner Mongolia, 44.68% of the total provincial population. The registered unemployment rate in urban areas is 3.34%. The total wages of staff and workers was 18.596168 billion Yuan. The per capita net income of rural residents was 2,050 Yuan. The average wage of staff and workers was 6,974 Yuan, and the per capita annual disposable income of urban households was 5,120 Yuan. The average household consumption was 2,127 Yuan, 1,527 for rural residents and 3,310 for urban residents. The number of hospital beds was 67,000, and number of doctors was 101,000. 9. Education: By the end of 2000, there were 18 institutions of higher education in Inner Mongolia, with 77967 students enrolled and 8,856 teachers; 2,218 secondary schools with 1,621,258 students and 101,036 teachers; 10,147 primary schools with 2,015,076 students enrolled and 129,242 teachers. A feature of education distribution in Inner Mongolia is the increase in the size of the educated population, with the average number of years of schooling increasing annually. The attendance rate of school-age children was 99.46%. |
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II. Population Situation |
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1. Size and Distribution The population of Inner Mongolia makes up only a small part of China's total population. In 2000, the total population of the province was 23.76 million. Population density is low with uneven distribution. There are more residents in the eastern part than the west, and more in rural and pastoral areas than in cities. Wherever transportation is convenient, there are more people. There are a variety of ethnic minorities with rapidly increasing population. The population of minority nationalities were 4.93 million, 20.76% to total population according to the statistics of 2000 fifth national census. 2. Population History There are four periods that should be described in the process of the province's population growth: 1949 - 60 was the period of rapid population growth, the annual rate of increase was as high as 6.30%; immigration contributed to most of the increase. The natural population growth during 1960?62 was relatively lower, with large numbers of out-migrants; 1961 was the only year negative population growth was observed in the history of the region. In the period 1962 - 73, the population grew continuously, with the annual increment reaching 435,700 annually, and the annual growth rate being 3.17%. From 1973 up to now, the speed of growth has been slowed; since the promotion of family planning, the natural increase rate changed from high to low very rapidly, and the speed of migration slowed also. 3. Population Structure by Sex and Age The Autonomous Region was established in 1947. At that time, the sex ratio was 121.33; it decreased gradually afterwards to a reasonable figure. It decreased to 107.17 in 2000. However, the sex structure varied widely. It was higher in pastoral, agricultural and suburban areas, and differences were also observed between different locations and urban and rural areas. In 2000, the total population was 23.76 million in Inner Mongolia. Of that number, 5.06 million were in the age group 0-14, or 21.28% of the total; 17.43 million were in the age group 15-64, or 73.37% of the total; 1.27 million were 65 and above, or 5.35% of the total. 4. Fertility Level and Changes In most years before 1985 the birth rates in Inner Mongolia were higher than the national average. The change started from 1985; the birth rate decreased towards a level lower than the national average. Meanwhile, the birth rate increased a little in 1986, due to the echo effect of the last baby boom. During the 10 years (1981-89) the rural birth rate decreased, urban total fertility did not change much, and the difference between urban and rural areas decreased. The birth rate in 2000 was 9.9 per 1,000, the natural increase rate was 4.4 per 1,000. According to population projections, the population will increase annually, and the amount of increase will be less and less, and the speed of increase will be slower; there may even be negative growth in some years. 5. Mortality and Life Expectancy The mortality rate has been decreasing since the 1950s. Mortality is higher for males. Significant differences exist between different areas. Infant and child mortality decreased on a large scale. The mortality of Mongolians has been decreasing also, but is higher than that of the Han people. The minority ethnic groups of Man and Korean people had the lowest mortality in the Autonomous Region. The mortality rate decreased from 45 per 1,000 before 1949 to 5.5 per 1,000 in 2000. Life expectancy in China before 1949 was 35 years; that of Inner Mongolia was even lower. Due to the continuously decreasing mortality, the life expectancy in 1981 reached 66.96, and rose to 67.02 in 1990. 6. Marriage Status, Family Size and Type According to fourth national census of 1990, the never-married proportion of the province's population decreased significantly, and the decrease was observed more among males than females. The number of early marriages increased. There was a positive relationship between the never-married proportion of the population and education level, with a larger proportion of the never-married among those who had a higher education. There was a larger proportion of never-married persons in the urban than in rural areas. The number of never-married young people in their upper 20s and above increased, with more of them being males; the proportion of never-married women aged 30 and above also increased. There was a high ratio of married persons, fewer males than females but the difference decreased. There was little change in the proportion of those divorced and widowed. The rural proportion of the widowed population was higher than that of city and town residents, and the number of females was higher than males. The divorce rate was low, with more males being divorced than females, and the number of urban residents was higher than that of rural areas. Marriage among ethnic minorities was stable and universal. In 1997, the population aged 15 and above in Inner Mongolia was 17.779 million; of that number, 9.129 million were males and 8.649 million females. The number of never-married males was 2.199 million and females 1.501 million; males in their first marriage numbered 6.402 million and females 6.412 million. Remarried males numbered 130,000 and females 144,000, divorced males numbered 88,000 and females 45,000. Widowed males numbered 311,000 and females 548,000. Family size was shrinking according to the 2000 census, although there were differences between urban and rural families. The average size of family households was 3.04 for urban areas and 3.53 for rural areas. Rural family size not only was higher than that of city and town families, but also higher than that of the region's average. The family structure was mainly two-generation. The number of nuclear families increased rapidly, the number of stem families also increased a little, but other types of families decreased in number. The kinship relationship was becoming simpler. 7. Aging of the Population The age distribution of the population in Inner Mongolia has made the transition from a youthful population to an adult one from 1990. In 1997, there were 1.209 million people aged 65 and above, or 5.12% of the total. According to 2000 population census, there were 1.27 million people aged 65 and above, or 5.35% of the total. Among the elderly in 1990, most of them were married or widowed; the employment rate was 24.88% for those aged 60 and above. The mortality rate for the elderly population was 81.46%, 1.33 times higher than the national average. 8. Population Quality The education situation improved rapidly since 1982. The education level was raised further, more of the population received an education, and the number illiterate and semi-literate decreased. However, the illiteracy rate in rural and pastoral areas was higher than that of urban areas. The illiterate rate was 9.12% in 2000, 6.27 of the percentage point lower than that of in 1990 of 15.39%. 9. Migration and the Floating Population Inner Mongolia is an area with a history of frequent migration, mainly intra-migration toward neighboring provinces. The floating population in 1990 numbered 1.046 million, and the number has been increasing. There were more out-migrants than in-migrants, which is the reverse pattern compared to the historical pattern. Migration was mainly from rural to urban areas, due to the economic development, resource exploitation and social development to be found in such areas. 10. Population, Resources and the Environment Inner Mongolia has rich resources, but per capita resources are decreasing due to population growth. During 1982 to 1990, the relationship between population and the environment was basically in harmony, but it is still a difficult job to protect the environment and prevent pollution. |
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III. Family Planning |
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History Introducing Family Planning among the Han Majority (1971-1978) Family planning was introduced among the Han majority from 1971; from that time, population growth began to slow down. Family planning publicity was the focus of this period. Providing Family Planning to Minorities Who have a Need (1979-1989) The Family Planning Office of the Autonomous Region was established at the end of 1979. The Family Planning Commission was established in 1983. In early 1981, the Autonomous Region held a meeting to discuss family planning issues, and called for controlling population growth, promoting one child per family among the Han majority. In September 1981, the people's Congress passed the "Supplemental Regulation to the Marriage Law, which stated: "do not promote fertility control among minorities, but provide service to those who require it." "Trial Implementation of Family Planning Regulations in Inner Mongolia" was issued in 1982. In 1988, specific regulations were given for family planning among minorities. Furthermore, regular publicity and education were carried out, family planning teams were established, and research was emphasized. Stable Development (1990-present) The "Inner Mongolia Autonomic Region Family Planning Regulation", which was issued in 1990, made family planning a component of government management. The norm of family planning was accepted widely, and ideas about childbearing subsequently changed. After 1991, it was required that the leaders of each level of government would be responsible for family planning. A leadership group for population and family planning was organized in 1991. The government provided "Suggestions on Improving Rural and Pastoral Areas' Family Planning Work" through the Family Planning Commission, asking for a focus on rural area family planning work. The financial input for family planning was increased. Through publicity and education, family planning at the grassroots level was carried out well. The government has carried out new work styles to put emphasis on information, education and communication, contraception and regular services for family planning, making possible the transitions from management to providing service. Family planning achieved significant results in the region. The birth rates changed from 37.19 per 1,000 in the 1960s to 9.9 per 1,000 in 2000 (with 27.06 per 1,000 in the 1970s, 20.93 per 1,000 in the 1980s,16.88 per 1,000 in the 1990s). The total fertility rate decreased from 6.7 in the 1960s to 4.3 (1970s), from 2.31 (1980s) to about 2.0 in the 1990s. The family planning acceptance rate was 43.77% in 1980, 53.88% in 1985, 73% in 1990, 84% in 1992 (sampling survey), 97.92% in 1997 (sampling survey), and 99.19% in 2000. High parity birth rates dropped from 32.12% in 1980, 17.31% in 1985, 13% in 1990 and 8% in 1993 to 0.94% in 2000. Rapid population growth was controlled effectively and the quality of service improved. Following all these steps, family planning provided a better population situation for social and economic development in the region. |
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