The population of China’s capital Beijing reached almost 20.7 million by the end of 2012, an increase of more than 500,000 compared with a year before.
The updated data was jointly released by the Beijing Municipal Statistic Bureau and the National Bureau of Statistics’ Beijing Branch on Sunday. According to the statistics, non-Beijing residents living more than half a year in the city had hit almost eight million, taking up 37 percent of the total population.
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However, authorities point out that the overall population increase has been the lowest in the city’s recent history. This tally with a slowdown in the city's GDP, which grew 7.7 percent in 2012. But its expanding population poses huge challenges to the city’s water resources, medical care and environment. The frequency of traffic jams in the city ranks the top in the country. |