People and Population
City Growth
Shanghai’s current population is hovering around 23.2 million people so you might think Shanghai has hit their population peaks. But no, Shanghai is going to continue to grow according to researchers and government officials at the fifth Expo forum, themed "Economic Transformations and Urban-Rural Relations." Shanghai will continue to grow and have a population of over 50 million by 2050, more than double the current level due to fast-paced urbanization and rapid economic growth within the city. China's one-child policy has succeeded in keeping the population numbers in check. So much so that there have been concerns over shrinking workforces and ageing populations. Now however, migrants from rural areas of China are turning Shanghai into the poster children for city swell. China's super-sized cities are the result of fast-growing economy and massive migration. But immigrants to these cities don't always find it easy. Yu Zhengsheng, Shanghai's Party secretary, pointed out that China's residence registry system has limited the number of migrants from living in Shanghais society, denying them many social services they would receive back home. At the same time he said they should provide incentives for migrants to move to smaller Chinese cities, alleviating some of the burden from mega cities like Shanghai. To prevent the rise of overpopulation these reforms need to be put in place.
By 1700 Shanghai had a population of about 50,000 making it a large and thriving port community.
By 1900 Shanghai had grown enormously to be a city of 1 million.
By 2015 it has a population of almost 23 million.
By 2050, it will have a population of 50 million
By 1700 Shanghai had a population of about 50,000 making it a large and thriving port community.
By 1900 Shanghai had grown enormously to be a city of 1 million.
By 2015 it has a population of almost 23 million.
By 2050, it will have a population of 50 million
Origins of Shanghai's People
98.8% of Shanghai's residents are of the Han Chinese ethnicity, while 1.2% belong to various minority groups. This minority group however, has grown by 165.54% since 2000, which is much faster than the overall population growth. One of these other minority groups are the Jewish Community which has a hidden story. While a Jewish community has existed in Shanghai since the late 19th century, the first large population of immigrants came in the 1920s and 30s, as thousands of European Jews fled the Bolshevik Revolution for the more friendly and safe shores in Shanghai. A decade later, the mainly Russian and Sephardic Jewish community was added to by tens of thousands of Jews from Europe, who fled during the early stages of Nazi rule in Germany. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, more European Jews had taken refuge in Shanghai than in any other city in the world. After the war however, China’s Jewish population lowered. “From 1949 to 1956, the Jewish community in Shanghai effectively ceased to exist,” Rabbi Shalom Greenberg, who administers to the approximately 2,000 Jews living in the city today. Shanghai has always had a thriving Jewish community. With Jews all over Europe coming to Shanghai to find a haven full of other like-minded Jews.
Economic Difference in Shanghai
Between 2008 and 2009 the number of Chinese millionaires with assets worth more than 10 million renminbi (Shanghai Currency) rose from 825,000 to 875,000, according to rough estimates by the Chinese government.
Within just one year, 50,000 more Chinese struck it rich. The number of super rich with assets in excess of 100 million renminbi increased by 4,000 during the same period, from 51,000 to 55,000.
China even has over 2,000 billionaires with assets of more than 1 billion renminbi and more than 100 mega rich worth more than 10 billion renminbi.
Not long ago Xincaifu (New Wealth), a monthly Chinese business magazine, came out with its latest list of China's 500 richest people, which showed that 88 had made their fortune in real estate, owning an average 7.38 billion renminbi per person. The super rich at the top of the wealth pyramid are rapidly increasing, while the average peasant at the bottom earns less than US$5,000 per year.
Some 310 million people in China have an income that is on a par with that of people in France or the United States, but there are also hundreds of millions living at the bottom of society in poverty or beyond. Don't forget, China's current success is built on 300 million people taking advantage of 1 billion cheap labourers. And the unfair law system and the unfair distribution of wealth are making the challenges even greater in Shanghai and in other parts of China.
Within just one year, 50,000 more Chinese struck it rich. The number of super rich with assets in excess of 100 million renminbi increased by 4,000 during the same period, from 51,000 to 55,000.
China even has over 2,000 billionaires with assets of more than 1 billion renminbi and more than 100 mega rich worth more than 10 billion renminbi.
Not long ago Xincaifu (New Wealth), a monthly Chinese business magazine, came out with its latest list of China's 500 richest people, which showed that 88 had made their fortune in real estate, owning an average 7.38 billion renminbi per person. The super rich at the top of the wealth pyramid are rapidly increasing, while the average peasant at the bottom earns less than US$5,000 per year.
Some 310 million people in China have an income that is on a par with that of people in France or the United States, but there are also hundreds of millions living at the bottom of society in poverty or beyond. Don't forget, China's current success is built on 300 million people taking advantage of 1 billion cheap labourers. And the unfair law system and the unfair distribution of wealth are making the challenges even greater in Shanghai and in other parts of China.