From November 1999 to last October, the growth rate among local residents was recorded at minus 0.03 per cent according to result from the fifth population census.

"Shanghai is the only city in China to keep a negative population growth rate," said Gu Yihua, deputy director with the city's Population Census Office. "If it wasn't for the family planning policy, the growth rate would have been much higher."

The total population of the city is now 16.73 million, 25.5 percent higher than the figure released in the fourth census in 1990.

"The increasing number of people coming into the city from other provinces is the main reason for the growth," said Pan Jianxin, director of the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.

About 72 per cent of the increase in population is people from other provinces, said the fifth population census report, released yesterday.

The report said the number of laborers from other provinces has climbed quickly in the past few years. Their number is now 3.87 million. Four-fifths of these people are aged between 15 and 44 and men account for 57.6 percent.

"The length of time these people reside in Shanghai is getting longer," said Pan. About 57 per cent of them live in Shanghai for more than a year.

"The rapid growth of laborers from other parts of the country reflects the city's fast economic development, which is also providing a good investment environment and a stabilizing factor," said Pan. "But it also brings problems for the city's administration, construction and public security."

The report said the percentage of illiterate people (people aged 15 or older who cannot read and write) among the city's total population is now 5.4 percent, 5.7 percent lower than the number 10 years ago.

The growth in the number of people with a higher education from universities and colleges has hit 67.4 percent, compared with 10 years ago.

But Shanghai has its problems as well, such as the growing population of elderly people. Of the total population, the number of people over 65 is growing the fastest, with an increase rate of 62.9 percent.

People over 65 account for 11.5 percent of the city's total population, 2.1 percent higher than that shown by the fourth population census.

"How to further consolidate and improve the pension system and develop medical facilities is an important task for the government," said Pan.

(China Daily 04/19/2001)