The total population of the province is 38 million, of which, the rural population is 17.37 million, accounting for 45.8 percent of the total; the urban population is 20.55 million, accounting for 54.2 percent of the total.

Population growth rate:6.36‰.

Average life expectancy: 66.97 years; Male: 66.5 years; female: 68.73 years.

Ethnicity:

The province is a habitation for many ethnic groups. According to the fourth national census taken in 1990, there are 47 ethnic groups living in the province, of which, Han people made up 94.3 percent of the province’s total; people of 42 ethnic minorities, 2 millions, accounting for 5.7 percent of the total. Major ethnic minorities include Manchu, Hui, Mongolian, Korean and Daur, Sibo, Hezhe, Oroqen, Ewenki and Kirgiz, who are distributed across the province. Dorbod Mongolian Autonomous County is the only area in the province with ethnic autonomous administration. There are 51 cities and counties where the ethnic minority population has reached 10,000 or more. There are 68 ethnic minority townships and 920 ethnic minority villages. The average population density of the province is 81.7 person per square kilometer.

Literacy:

According to the 1 percent sample population survey made in 1995, of the population above six years old, 3.4 percent have a educational background of community college or higher; 12.7 percent of high school; 35.2 percent of junior high school; and 38.2 percent of primary school. Of the population above 15 years old, illiterates and semi-literates account for 10.8 percent.

According to statistics made in the end of 2001, the province has 41 higher learning institutes, with a total of 271,000 students, among which 22 has graduate schools, with 14,000 postgraduates. There are 47 colleges of adult education, with an enrollment of 58,000 students. There are 96 vocational schools with an enrollment of 116,000 students; there are 2,775 middle schools with an enrollment of 2.521 million students; there are 51,000 adult students attending vocational training schools, and 2.588 million pupils in 12,636 primary schools. There are 7,518 students studying in special schools and 370,000 children in kindergartens. About 3.404 million students have received training at adult technical schools, and around 9,000 illiterate people learned how to read and write each year.