
Photo: VCG
Central Beijing is becoming less crowded.
Between 2013 and 2017, the population density in Beijing’s two most central districts, Dongcheng and Xicheng, both declined 6.4%, according to a report published by the Beijing Municipal Party School’s Population and Social Development Research Center Committee and the Social Sciences Academic Press.
Data from 2017 shows that demographics have also changed, the report found. The proportion of Chinese migrants declined from 37.2% in 2016 to 36.6% in 2017, a decrease of 132,000 people. The number of registered Beijing households fell 3% in 2017, a decrease of about 37,000 people from 2016.
The report, released at a conference on Sunday, also warned that Beijing – like the rest of China – is facing an aging population, with the proportion of people over the age of 65 rising from 8.7% of the population in 2010 to 10.5% in 2017.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the number of foreign passport holders residing in Beijing had declined. It was the number of registered households that declined, not passport holders.

