China's rural population stood at 737 million - 56 percent of
the total population of more than 1.3 billion - at the end of 2006,
Xie Fuzhan, director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS),
said on Monday.
China has seen its rural population shrink in recent years as
the country's urbanization has gathered momentum.
The rural population in China was recorded at 64 percent of the
total 1.3 billion in 2001 and 74 percent in 1990.
The latest figure was calculated using a sample of one percent
of the total population conducted in 2005, Xie told the Fourth
International Conference on Agriculture Statistics (ICAS) held in
Beijing.
Xie said the country's urban population has risen to 577 million
to account for 44 percent of the total by the end of last year.
China's Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan attended the opening ceremony
of the fourth ICAS, organized by the NBS and the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and called for
intensified efforts to improve agriculture statistics.
More than 300 experts in agriculture and statistics from
international organizations and countries participated in the
conference that will conclude on October 24.
(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)