As the world's population is approximately 6.7 billion, China represents a full 20% of the world's population so one in every five people on the planet is a resident of China.
China's population growth has been somewhat slowed by the one child policy, in effect since 1979.
As recently as 1950, China's population was a mere 563 million. The population grew dramatically through the following decades to one billion in the early 1980s.
Year Total Population Urban Population Rural Population 1949 542 million 1955 615 million 1960 662 million 1965 725 million 1970 830 million 1975 924 million 1980 987 million 1985 1.058 billion 1990 1.143 billion 1992 1.171 billion 1995 1.2112 billion 1996 1.224 billion 359.5 million (29.4%) 864.39 million (70.6%) 1997 1.236 billion 369.89 million (29.9%) 866.37 million (70.1%) 1998 1.248 billion 1999 1.259 billion 388.92 million (30.9%) 870.17 million (69.1%) 2000 1.2953 billion 36% 64% 2008 1.328 billion 45.7% 54.3% 2009 1.334 billion 46.6% 53.4% 2010 1.341 billion 49.68% 50.32% 2011 1.347 billion 51.27% 48.73% The south, east, and coastal areas are the most dense areas.
