Shanghai population grows 8% in past decade

SHANGHAI -- The population of East China's Shanghai Municipality rose by 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the local government.

The number of permanent residents in the city increased by more than 1.85 million to exceed 24.87 million over the past decade, said Zhu Min, head of Shanghai's municipal bureau of statistics, citing data from the seventh national census conducted last year.

Of the total population, 89.3 percent, or nearly 22.21 million live in urban areas, Zhu added.

The number of permanent residents with a bachelor's degree or above surged 67.1 percent to 8.42 million, up 3.38 million from 2010.

From 2010 to 2020, the population density in the city's downtown area declined from 24,137 to 23,092 people per square km, compared with the growth in suburbs and the Pudong New Area.

Zhu attributed this change to the improvement in the public transportation system and a more balanced distribution of public resources and industries.