1. Name: Hainan Province
2. Areas: 339.2 thousand km²
3. Population: 7.2453 million (registered population by the end of 1997)
4. Provincial Capital: Haikou City
5. Geography: Hainan Province is situated at the southern end of China between 358N-2010N and 10837E-11750E, being in the tropical and subtropical zone. Administrative areas of Hainan include Hainandao Island, Nansha, Xisha, Zhongsha Archipelagos and their sea areas. It faces Leizhou Peninsula across Qiongzhou Channel to the north, Vietnam across the North Bay to the west, and Malaysia and Indonesia across the South China Sea to the south, and is closely joined by the South China Sea and islands. Hainan is China's second largest island, but the smallest province.
6. Natural Resources: Hainan is a tropical island and has a vast stretch of tropical primeval forests, mountain range, rivers and beaches. There are over 560 species of animals and 4200 types of plants on the island. It has great mineral reserves and is rich in oil and natural gas. Among the minerals of proved deposits, iron-ore and arenaceous quartz deposits rank the 1st in China, natural gas, zirconium, nitrogenous fertilizer rock and gems the 2nd, titanium the 3rd, and oil-shale the 4th. Tourism becomes a leading industry in Hainan.
7. Economy: In 1997, the gross domestic product of Hainan was 40.986 billion yuan, per capita gross domestic product 5,698 yuan, and the gross industrial and agricultural output value 30.65043 billion yuan. The total imports and exports were 1,949.01 million US dollars, total provincial government revenue 3.16485 billion yuan, and the yield of grain 2.2309 million tons.
8. People's Life: By the end of 1997, there were 3.4165 million employed, and the total wages of the staff and workers were 5.809 billion yuan, with per capita wage of 5,664 yuan. The total social insurance and welfare funds of the employed and retired staff and workers were 1.773909 billion yuan. The per capita annual disposable income of urban households was 4,850 yuan, and the per capita net income of the rural households was 2,382 yuan. The per capita living floor space was 13.99 square meters for urban residents and 20.29 square meters for the rural residents. The outstanding amount of savings deposit in urban and rural areas by the end of the year was 36.26146 billion yuan, with the per capita level of 5,041.2 yuan. The entire province had 21,704 hospital beds and 32,458 medical personal. There was 2.87 hospital beds per 1,000 persons.
9. Education: By the end of 1997, there were 5 higher education institutions in Hainan, with the number of enrolled students 12,783 and that of teachers 1,380; 574 specialized secondary schools with 404.285 thousand enrolled students and 24.614 thousand teachers; 494 secondary schools with 367.522 thousand enrolled students and 21.565 thousand teachers; and 4,330 primary schools with 1,090.799 thousand enrolled students and 49.47 thousand teachers.

In the 1990 fourth national population census, the population of Hainan counted 655.81 million, accounting for 0.85% of the national total and ranking 27th among the provinces of China. Population density was 193 persons per square kilometers, which ranks the 16th in the country. The increase of population density is more rapid in Hainan Province than in the country as a whole. 80% of the population are rural residents; population density is higher in urban than the rural areas; the northern and eastern parts are more populous, while the central mountainous areas are sparsely populated. The population is increasingly distributed from the central mountainous areas to the coastal areas. Hainan is home to 38 ethnic minority groups who mainly locate in the south-central mountainous areas.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the population of Hainan has experienced 5 phases between which the rates of population growth are highly varied. With annual population increment of 8.96 thousand and annual population growth rate of 3.93%, 1950-57 witnessed a most rapid growth of the population. Population growth was slowed down between 1958-61, seeing the annual increment down to 31.6 thousand. However, the pace of population growth was dramatically accelerated in 1962-1969 as a result of the compensating baby boom, which produced annually 140 thousand babies. A period of steady growth then followed between 1978 and 1980, during which the birth rate averaged at around 23‰, and the population reproduction was following a planned development. 1981-1990 was a phase of great effect of the family planning program. Currently the population reproduction in Hainan Province is well in the transition from a traditional to a modern regime.

The sex ratio of the total population has been on the increase, as reflected in the 4 population censuses. Sex ratio went from 98.52 in 1953 and 102.51 in 1964 up to 105.28 in 1982 and 108.91 in 1990. Sex ratios in Hainan Province were characterized by "4 highs and 1 low", namely, high sex ratio for the total population, high sex ratio at birth, high sex ratio for the adult population, high sex ratio for the unmarried young population, and low sex ratio for the elderly population. The total population sex ratio was only next to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the 2nd highest in China. According to the household statistics from the Provincial Bureau of Public Security, in 1997, males and females numbered 3,793.6 thousand and 3,451.7 thousand respectively, correspondingly constituting 52.36% and 47.64% of the total population, and sex ratio of the total population was 108.08.

In the 1997 population of Hainan, 2,361 thousand people were at ages 0-14, representing 32.65% of the total; 4,715 thousand people were at ages 15-64, representing 65.1%; and 483 thousand people were at ages 65 and over, representing 6.7%.

Fertility has been declined substantially since the establishment of the province, from a total fertility rate (TFR) of 4.295 in 1981 and 2.93 in 1989 to that of 2.15 in 1997. The 1997 crude birth rate in Hainan Province was 19.18‰ and the natural increase rate 13.56‰. Population projections anticipate sustained growth of the population, which would hit 10 million by 2018 under a high fertility scenario projection.

The crude death rate (CDR) stood as high as 30‰ in Hainan before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The last five decades are characterized by five distinct phases in mortality changes: mortality decline, abnormal rise, steady decline, small increase, and stability at low level. CDR reached a relatively low level of 5.62‰ in 1997. There is a marked difference in mortality between the urban and rural areas, the rural areas being considerably higher than the urban areas. Mortality is observed high among the ethnic minority groups. Males have a higher mortality than females, and mortality lowers at younger ages and increases with advancement of ages.

Life expectancy at birth, which was only around 40 before 1949, was estimated 66.93 for males and 73.28 for females according to the 1990 population census. Major causes of death in recent years have concentrated on chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and heart diseases. Once the technological and medical breakthroughs occur in treating these diseases, new leaps in the life expectancy improvement is expected also.

The 1990 population census counted 4,388.8 thousand persons of age 15 and over, of whom 28.42% were never married, 64.92% married, 6.09% widowed, and 0.57% divorced. The never marrying rates are positively correlated with the years of schooling. Lower education groups have higher rates of widowhood, divorce rates are observed higher for college education and illiterate groups than for the intermediate groups. Proportions of the never married are higher for the urban than for the rural residences. Proportions of persons with spouses are higher in the towns than in the cities and counties. The divorce rates are higher in counties than in cities and towns. Never marrying rates and divorce rates are higher for males than for females, and females have higher rates of married and widowed than males.

Household size has been shrinking in Hainan, with the mean size of the households dropping from 4.61 persons in 1988 to 4.49 in 1997. The sampling survey of population changes shows that 38.8% of the households were stem families of 4 or 5 persons.

In 1990, Hainan had an elderly population aged 60 and over of 538.1 thousand, males being 233.8 thousand and females 304.3 thousand, and the percentage of elderly being 8.21%. The elderly population at ages 65 and over was 354.5 thousand, accounting for 5.41% of the total population. The oldest old population aged 80 and over was 57 thousand. As age increases, the female elderly increasingly outnumbers the male elderly. As a result of the growing elderly population, the percentage aged 65 and above went from 3.91% in 1964 up to 5.47% in 1990. The elderly are predominantly rural in Hainan, 80.89% of the 538.1 thousand elderly persons aged 65 and above lived in rural areas while the rest 19.11% living in the urban areas. The age structure of the population of Hainan is typical of an adult type.

Looking at the educational composition of the population of Hainan, the college education group numbered 81.8 thousand or 1.81% of the population aged 15 and above. There was an increment of 60.1 thousand or 277.83% increase in the college education group between 1982 and 1990. There were 679.1 thousand persons or 15.07% with senior secondary education, which increased by 145.5 thousand or 27.28% between 1982 and 1990. The junior secondary education group had a population of 1475.5 thousand or 32.75%, observing 533.3 thousand or 56.60% increase between 1982-1990. The primary school education population grew by 20.12% in 1982-1990, reaching 2269.3 thousand or 50.37%. Increases in all categories of education but decreases in the illiterate group featured the educational composition of the population of Hainan. The illiterate rate dropped, the top education groups went up in their percentages, and the overall education of Hainan¢ s population is at the intermediate level among the provinces of China.

According to the results of the 1990 population census, larger inter-provincial than intra-provincial in-migration characterized migration in the recent 5 years, the neighboring provinces being the major places of origin. There were more rural than urban in-migrants, and migration for seeking jobs or doing business occupied the first place. As a major place of tourism in China, recent years have seen a tremendous increase in the visitors for sightseeing.

The rapid growth of the population of Hainan has been aggravating the population pressure on the resources and intensifying the contradiction between the population and the environment. Population expansion led to environmental pollution and resource depletion as a result of exploiting the resources and destroying the environment to meet the growing needs of the people in improving their lives. The heavy population burden impeded economic construction and development, and environmental degradation put constraints on the subsistence of the population.

Four phases can be distinguished in the history of the family planning work in Hainan Province:

1. Phase 1, family planning publicity (1953-1962). Family planning was generally publicized in the period, learning and carrying out the instructions on fertility regulation and family planning from the central government and the State Council. In 1962, knowledge and benefits of birth control were displayed at an exhibition of family planning pictures, the same topics were also discussed during meetings in Haikou City and Qionghai County. This work, however, was not conducted province-wide, and population reproduction was in a natural state. Crude birth rates stood over 30‰ except the depressed situation in 1959-1961 of the economic hardship.

2. Phase 2, beginning and reverse (1963-65). Hainan conducted experiments in family planning among Han population in urban residence in 1963, and extended into the rural and ethnic minority areas in 1964. Hainan Regional Group for Fertility Regulation Technical Instruction was set up in 1965, responsible for family planning technical services. (It was promoted that each couple has two children with at least 3-year spacing, later marriage, and contraception such as sterilization and IUD were available.) However, the family planning work was stopped during the “Cultural Revolution”, leading to fast population growth with the crude birth rate well above 30‰ in 1966-1969.

3. Phase 3, implementation in an all-around way (1970-1979). The Family Planning Leading Group under Hainan Administrative Revolutionary Commission was set up at the end of 1969, and family planning organization in Li Autonomous Prefecture and other cities and counties in Hainan were successively restored. The priority of the publicity of family planning was shifted from urban to rural areas, City and county medical teams were organized to carry out publicity of family planning knowledge and technological instruction in rural areas, and the domestic made pills and Chinese herbal medical contraceptives were made accessible. Research was done on some contraception technologies during 1974-1975, and progress was made on the development of the oral Chinese herbal contraceptives. The practice of "males marrying into the families of the females" was promoted in Wenchang County in 1976. Rural people's communes gave a full-time position for family planning staff in 1979, and the first huge and grand family planning publicity month was carried out in Hainan in the same year. "Announcement to Print and Distribute 'Supplementary Regulations on Family Planning in Hainan Administrative Region'" was issued in 1979. This phase saw the preliminary effects of the family planning work in Hainan, as shown by the sustained decline in crude birth rate from 1971 to 25.90 ‰ in 1979, the lowest was 20.90 ‰ in 1976.

4. Phase 4, a further deepening development (1980-1993). Hainan made new great achievement in both theory and practice of the family planning work on:

(1) Policy evolution Guangdong Provincial Family Planning Regulations was carried out during the early and mid 1980s, promoting later marriage, later childbearing, fewer and healthier births, with the emphasis on fewer births, namely, one child per couple, and a spacing of at least 4 years between the first and second child if the second child was arranged in conformity with the population plan. The government of Hainan Administrative Region transmitted “Report of Conducting Serious and Good Work in Family Planning” submitted by the Regional Family Planning Office, demanding that birth quota should be arranged following the principle of one child per couple with controlling the second and prohibiting the third birth. The Government of Li Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan issued “Announcement to Print and Distribute ‘Provisional Regulations on Family Planning in Ethnic Minority Groups in Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan’” in 1983. Hainan Provincial Regulations on Family Planning was issued in 1989 identified specific policies for urban, rural areas and the ethnic minority groups. Births could only be occurred following the requirements of plan, quota and spacing (at least 4 years). Awards were given to the units and individuals that had consciously practiced family planning.

(2) Institutions development In May 1979, The Family Planning Office was separated from the health system, Hainan Administrative Regional Family Planning Office was set up. Hainan Administrative Regional Family Planning Office was renamed as Hainan Administrative Regional Family Planning Commission in September 1983, and the subordinated cities and counties followed the suit. After the establishment of Hainan Province, Hainan Administrative Regional Family Planning Commission was incorporated into Hainan Provincial Bureau of Health, becoming Hainan Provincial Family Planning Office subordinated to the bureau. Hainan Family Planning Publicity and Technical Instruction Station was established in 1984, following by all the cities and counties. A contraception distribution station was set up in 1988, and Hainan Provincial Center for Family Planning Service was established in 1989. At the same time, Hainan Provincial Family Planning Association was organized, being responsible for set up the family planning associations at all levels and their activities.

(3) Publicity and Education The activity of "family planning publicity month" was carried out, efforts were done in education and training of family planning personnel and, in changing the old concepts in marriage and childbearing of local people. Family planning publicity was conducted in wide variety of channels and forms.

(4) The major experiences in family planning The two-way responsibility system for management of population and family planning targets has been implemented since 1991, and the family planning work has been done according to law and regulations, in terms of strengthening education and supervision, investigating and prosecuting cases in family planning, and management.

Great achievements have been made in the family planning work in Hainan Province by the efforts in the last few decades: The crude birth rate dropped from 52.02‰ in 1962 to 20.81‰ in 1993. Rate of Natural Increase dropped from 43.73‰in 1962 to 15.55‰ in 1993. The total fertility rate was reduced from 4.27 in 1980 to 2.8 in 1992. The high parity birth rate declined from 44.77% in 1981 to 30.93% in 1992, a drop of 13.84 percentage points. The age structure of the population was transformed from a young to an adult type, with the proportion of the population at ages 0-14 declining from 40.42% in 1964 to 33.51% in 1990, the proportion of the working age population aged 15-64 increasing from 55.56% in 1964 to 61.02% in 1990, and the percentage of the elderly people at age 65 and over rising from 3.91% in 1964 to 5.4% in 1990.

1. China's Population at the Turn of the Century (The Hainan Volume), China Statistical Publishing House, 1994.
2. Peng Peiyun edt. A Comprehensive Book on Family Planning in China. China Population Press, 1994.
3. Population Division and Division of Social and Technological Statistics of the State Statistical Bureau. China's Population 1997. China Statistical Publishing House, 1998.
4. Hainan Statistical Yearbook 1998. China Statistical Publishing House.
5. China Population Yearbook 1998. China Civil Aviation Press.