Beijing drop in population first for 17 yrs

Efforts to relocate noncapital functions credited with 0.1% decline in 2017

Beijing's population shrank in 2017 - the first time in 17 years - as the result of nonessential functions being relocated outside the city and better urban management, authorities said on Friday.

The capital had 21.7 million permanent residents by the end of last year, 22,000 less than in 2016, a 0.1 percent fall year-on-year, according to the Beijing Bureau of Statistics.