The resident population of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China amounted to 20.10 million by last November, an increase of 1.62 million, or 8.79 percent, on the figure five years before.

The regional statistics bureau said the population in Xinjiang, home to 47 ethnic groups, rose 324,400, or 1.7 percent, on average annually since 2000.

The population of the Han nationality reached 7.99 million, accounting for 39.74 percent of the region's permanent population, a census which started last November showed.

With an increase of about 1.14 million, or more than 10 percent, the population of the other ethnic groups reached 12.1 million, accounting for 60.26 percent of the region's total, according to the census.

Men made up 51.22 percent, or 10.29 million, of the region's population, and women, 48.78 percent, or 9.79 million.

The census also indicated local residents were better educated than five years before. It reported 1.6 million college graduates in the region, a rise of 650,500 from 2000.

China launched a nationwide census last November, which showed the country's population had risen to 1.306 billion, up 3.2 percent from 2000.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2006)