Heilongjiang
1. Name: Heilongjiang Province
2. Areas: 454600 square kilometers
3. Population: 38.108 million (by the end of 1997)
The total population in Heilongjiang in 1997 accounted 38.108 million. With diversity distribution the most people live in plain areas in the mid-west, less in mountain and hills in mid-south, and even less in the east plain and in the north- mountain. On the whole, the population density is low, and the speed of increasing in density is slow. The population density in cities is the highest. The regional deviation in population density is obvious among the administrative regions. As the development of economy in whole province and the transfer of strategic emphasis in development, the population distribution has changed a lot. It expressed that the center of distribution move to the east, the increase rates of density in urban is higher than in rural. The minority people are widely distributed in Heilongjiang, and the increase in the minority population is fast. With 48 out of 56 ethnic groups in China, Heilongjiang is listed as one of the multiple minorities’ provinces.
2. Population History
After 1949, the population growth of Heilongjiang has been gone through a process from rapid increase to quick reduce. The population size has increased largely and the speed of increase became slower gradually. With the social economic development in last four decades and the practice of population policy, the growth of Heilongjiang population has passed three peaks and two undermost points which can be classified into five periods as following:
The first period, 1950-1957, was characterized as the first highest growth period. The annual increase rate was 4.44 percent, the population development in this period was blind and unplanned.
The second period, 1958-1962, was defined as the rapid decline in population growth rates. With the crude birth rates (CBRs) were reduced rapidly, the first undermost point in population growth was formed.
The third period, 1963-1972, can be divided into two stages. From 1963 to 1965, the CBRs increased rapidly due to the retrieved fertility after resuming from economic disaster, and the second peak of birth rates was formed in Heilongjiang with increment of 0.8095 million persons per year on average. From 1966 to 1972, the CBRs were kept at high level, with over 34 per thousand.
The forth period, 1973-1985, was slow down in population growth and CBRs were reduced obviously due to implementing family planning program.
The fifth period, 1986-1997, was kept the low fertility, but the third peak of population growth was formed due to the rebound of birth rates by population momentum.
After 1949, the population structure by sex in Heilongjiang has great changed. Up to 1990s the trend of changes in sex ratio of total population was generally declined, then in 1990s the sex radio became normal with little change. In 1997, the total population in the whole province is 38.108 million with 19.426 million males and 18.682 million females and the sex radio was 103.98.
In term of age structure, in 1997 among the 38.108 million population, people of age 0-14 accounts 8.342 million, about 21.9 percent. The number of people age 15-64 was 28.009 million, about 73.5 percent. The elderly age over 65 years old was 1.757 million, accounting for 4.6 percent of total population. Total dependency ratio was 36.06 percent, with the youth dependency ratio 29.78 percent and the elderly dependency ratio 6.27 percent.
Since 1949, the fertility level in Heilongjiang has kept in the trend of decline with some fluctuations and it reduced to the low level at present. But it could be further declined potentially, if the early births and the out-of-plan births in rural areas were eliminated. In 1997, the CBR in Heilongjiang was 12.02 per thousand, the natural increase rate was 6.85 per thousand. By the population projection, in the future, Heilongjiang population will go through three stages: low growth, zero growth and negative growth before 2050s in next century. It is estimated that Heilongjiang population will walk into the period of negative growth after 2020.
5. Mortality and Life Expectancy
Since 1949, Mortality in Heilongjiang has been reduced obviously. The mortality rate in Heilongjiang was reduced from10 per thousand and above in the early of 1950s to 5.17 per thousand in 1997. In general, the age specific mortality rates in Heilongjiang are in low level, and the figure of death rates by ages looks like “J-shape”. The mortality level in urban is lower than that in rural. In the minority groups the mortality of males is higher than that of females. From the early of 1950s, the infant mortality has been reducing with fast speed. The life expectancy in Heilongjiang has great improved in past four decades, and it reached 68.4 years in 1990.
The forth census in 1990 shows that all the unmarried person above 15 years old was 6.229 million, accounting for 24.1 percent in total population. Percentage of unmarried men was greater than that of unmarried women, and urban was greater than rural. Percentage of spouse in women was higher than that in men, and urban was higher than rural. The percentage of widows was higher than that of widowers. There was a great difference of widowing between urban and rural. The proportion of widows in illiterates and semi-illiterates was high. The proportion of widows in different occupations was diverse. There was an obvious gap in divorce rates between urban and rural, as well as in different regions.
In 1997, there were 15.081 million males and 14.685 million females aged 15 and over, totally 29.767 million people in Heilongjiang. Among them there were 3.263 million males and 2.482 million females unmarried, 10.77 million males and 10.855 million females first married with spouse, 0.375 million males and 0.372 million females remarried, 0.193 million males and 0.128 million females divorced, 0.48 million widowers and 0.849 million widows.
In terms of family size, the size in Heilongjiang family is varied from urban to rural, and urban is smaller than rural. The main family form in the whole province is two-generation family. But the conventional three-generation family has little raised. And the backbone family composed grand parents, parents and single child has been reduced.
The forth census in 1990 showed that the proportion of the elderly had increased in the passed years, with 6.28 percent of total population in 1990 were aged 60 years and above and 3.78 percent for 65 years and above. The increase of the elderly was faster than the total population growth. The proportion of elderly in Heilongjiang now is comparatively lower than any other province in the country. But the sex ratio of the elderly is slight high. The aged population is relatively young with large part of persons at younger ages. The illiterate and semi-illiterate rate in the elderly took 67.67 percent in 1990. With high proportion of the elderly was married with their spouses, the unmarried rate and divorced rate in the elderly were very low, same as the rate of widow or widower. The elderly participate in economic activities was about 13.98 percent.
8. Population Quality
The population quality in Heilongjiang has been greatly improved since 1949. But the level of educational attainment in different group of people is out of the balance, with a great gap between urban and rural. The population quality in terms of educational level in urban is higher than that in rural obviously. The educational attainment for the people living in relatively developed big or middle cities and industrialized areas is higher. On the contrary, the education in the behindhand areas is lower. And the education in females is lower than that in males.
9. Migration and Population Floating
From 1949 to 1979, except the year of 1962, Heilongjiang has a lot of migrants from all over the country. The major reasons is in supporting of construction workers and coming of the Educated Urban Youth who went to the countryside and mountains from big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and floating with a large number of peasants from Shandong blindly into Heilongjiang. From that on, the net migration went down, because the Educated Urban Youth were returned to the original cities. Since 1980, Heilongjiang become out-migration great than in-migration, since the governments adopted the policy of controlling immigration and some migrants were pull back to the rapidly developed in Shandong and other provinces. In 1980s, the floating population was reducing year by year, but it appears rebounds in 1990s.
In terms of international migration, the emigration of Heilongjiang is more than immigration, and the immigration is almost in the overseas Chinese.
Heilongjiang is rich in natural resources. But the pressure to resources became more serious as the social economy developed rapidly and the population grew overly. The serious issues of natural ecology caused by over activity and unplanned exploiture and use of resources. We have no ability to solve some problems of pollution, because of weakness in technology and productivity, fragility of economic carrying capacity and infirmity of facility. All these make environment and nature resources deteriorated.
The family planning program in Heilongjiang has come through a tortuous way. As a brief review, it can be described as following four periods:
In 1956, the Heilongjiang Provincial Health Bureau followed the prescription of the Ministry of Health to require medical department at all levels in whole province to provide the information and guidance to the people who need contraceptive. In 1957 the Provincial Health Bureau issued a document named "the Direction of Promoting Information and Guidance on Contraceptive". All hospitals at city level and above started to set up clinics for birth control. In the same year, the People’s Congress of Heilongjiang issued another circular on “ the Prescription on Promoting Contraceptive Work”. Heilongjiang Working Committee of Birth Control was set up in August. But the work of contraceptive was halt due to the mass movement of "Anti-Rightist" in the end of 1950s.
2. Initiate Family Planning (from 1960 to 1978)
In 1963 Heilongjiang Provincial Commission of Chinese Communist Party and Heilongjiang People’s Congress released the circular to “ Carry out the Prescription Issued by the Center Commission of Chinese Communist Party and State Council ‘on Promoting Family Planning Seriously’”, and decided to initiate family planning program in the whole province. At that time the family planning work was focused on the cities. In this period, the government put their efforts to set up organizations for family planning, and to set down the regulations and make population plans for population control. They also promoted the education on contraception and managed the technical services and contraceptive supplies. But the family planning work was disturbed and destroyed, since 1966 the “Cultural Revolution” started. After 1972, the family planning work was resumed in Heilongjiang. In the same year, Provincial Committee of Family Planning was approved to established by the Provincial Revolution Committee. As following many family planning organizations with personnel was built at all levels in whole province.
3. Expand Family Planning (from 1979 to 1993)
After the Third Plenary Meeting of the 11th Congress of Chinese Communist Party hold in 1979, the family planning work in Heilongjiang was put more attentions by government leaders and came into a new stage. The family planning organizations and personnel has been enhanced further. The service network has been formed to cover the whole province including rural areas. In 1980, the Heilongjiang Provincial Population Association was set up to conduct the surveys and studies on population science and family planning. In 1983, the Provincial Institute of Family Planning Education and Publicity was built, and as following the supervise stations for family planning education and publicity at all levels was built soon. In 1985, Family Planning Associations (FPAs) were founded. Since early 1990s, the family planning service stations have been made up of the service networks at four levels, which link up all cities, countries, townships and villages in the whole province.
In this period, the family planning IEC was deepened, and the family planning policies and regulations were constituted. The population plan has been brought into effect with the social economic development plan. The governments and family planning organizations at all levels adopted the population objective management and responsibility system, to sign the contracts, which including 10 testable targets, with their subordinates. The increasing the budgets and other inputs have been put into service network construction to provide the quality services, to enhance the management in contraceptive supplies, and to emphasis the progestational contraceptive services and management. A visible achievement in family planning program has been made with these inputs.
In 1994, during the birth peak period, Heilongjiang completed the annual population plan which given by its superior. It shows that the family planning program in Heilongjiang has been entered into the smooth and steady path. Heilongjiang has insisted to carry out the Objective Management and Responsibility System in population and family planning work since 1994. The great efforts have been made further for strengthening the leadership in family planning work, and deepening the progestational contraceptive services and management. The pilot project of primary reproductive care has broken out in a great progress. The governments at all levels promoted the program of “Three Emphasis” across-the-aboard, consolidated the comprehensive management in family planning work coordinating with their related sectors, departments and organizations under the leadership of governments.
With the improvement of laws and policies, the legitimate management was required as the legal system construction in family planning program. With more attentions paid to the spirit civilization construction, the quality of personnel in family planning system has been improved, and the education, information and communication (IEC) in family planning has been regarded as the priority in their work. The quality of statistics in population and family planning has been also improved. The reformation of management for the Unplanned Birth Fee has been turned into a certain effects. In the general, Heilongjiang has a fairly good infrastructure in population and family planning. Its performance in family planning has been praised as one of the first class provinces in the China. It says a moderate population environment has been created for its social economic development.
Great achievements in family planning in past four decades in Heilongjiang could be summed as following:
Firstly, the rapidly increasing population is controlled efficiently. In 1997 the crude birth rates is 12.02 per thousand and natural increase rates is 6.85 per thousand, 33.04 and 29.65 per thousand points less than that in 1963. It made a good condition for economic development and social progress.
Secondly, the concept of marriage and childbearing in people’s mind has significantly changed. More and more people realized that the quality and quantity of children is not only related with family happy, but also with the prosperous of country and nationality. The people's concept of marriage and childbearing was changed from blinded to planned. Especially after dissemination of the basic knowledge of population and family planning in whole province, the self-consciousness of all the people in carrying out the family planning was enhanced significantly.
Thirdly, the transition of population reproductive pattern was happened. In 1964 Heilongjiang’s young people of age 0-14 was about 45.23 percent in total, and the elderly age over 65 was only 2.92 percent. The young pattern of age structure means population would be expanded potentially. In 1990 the forth census showed that the proportion of age 0-14 dropped to 26.6 percent and the rate of the elderly over 65 years rose up to 3.78 percent. At present the pattern of population age structure has been turning into the more stabled adult pattern and the early stage of aged pattern.
Finally, it accelerated the improvement of population quality. With the development in economy, education, medical science, and family planning program, the population quality in the whole province improved obviously. The mortality has been reduced from 12 per thousand at beginning of 1950s to 5.17 per thousand in 1997. The life expectancy was doubled comparing with that before the liberation. The infant mortality rates had been reduced from 200 per thousand in 1949 to 12.38 per thousand in 1990. The 1990's census showed the distribution of educational attainment among the people age 6 and above as following: people attained college and above took 2.1 percent, senior high school 11.73 percent, junior high school 28.45 percent, and elementary school 34.09 percent. Generally the educational level of Heilongjiang population is above the average level in the China.
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