Society

Permanent residents in Beijing exceed 19 million

By Chen Ziyan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-07-22 11:57

The number of permanent residents in Beijing has reached 19.72 million, which far exceeds the population size projected by the State Council for 2020, the Beijing Evening News reported Thursday.

According to local statistics, the population of registered permanent residents in Beijing has reached 12.46 million, and the registered floating population for those living in Beijing for more than six months was 7.26 million, with a total population of 19.72 million by the end of 2009, which has broken through the projected 18 million by 2020.

The main reason behind the growth was the floating population, with statistics showing that the floating population of Beijing increased about 15.18 million, with an average annual growth of 3.79 million during the past four years.

A panel of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress has been set up to find effective ways of dealing with the city’s exploding population.