According to statistics of the fifth national census, the total population of the province was 90.79 million. The ratio of male population against female was basically balanced.

Male: 45.96 million, 50.63 percent of the total;

Female: 44.83 million, 49.37 percent.

Population growth rate:

Compared with the figure of 84.39 million out of the fourth national census made in 1990, the population has increased 6.40 million. The birth rate was 10.75 per thousand while the mortality was 6.29 per thousand, making up a natural growth rate of 4.46 per thousand. The population growth rate had been stabilized at about 5 per thousand for nine years.

Ethnicity:

There are 54 ethnic groups, including the Han, Manchu, Zhuang, Korean, Miao, Tibetan, Yi, Yao, and Bai. The Han population is 90.17 million, accounting for 99.32 percent of the province?s total. The population of various minority ethnic groups is 620,000, accounting for 0.68 percent of the total.

Literacy:

The number of those who have a college educational background is 3.0244 million, accounting for 3.33 percent of the total population; the number of those who have received high school (including vocational school) education is 10.02 million, accounting for 11.04 percent and that of those who have junior high school education is 33.26 million, 36.6 percent of the total; that of those who have primary education is 29.72 million, 32.7 percent. The number of illiterate (including those at the age of 15 or above cannot read or just read a little) is 7.6798 million.