Author: Lin Xiaozhao
Which cities in China have the highest urban population density?
According to the statistics of the first financial reporter, there are currently 21 cities in my country with a population density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer, of which Shenzhen has more than 7,000 people per square kilometer, ranking the top three with Dongguan and Shanghai; the cities with high population density are mainly Concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin and other places.
It should be noted that the population density here is calculated based on the total area within the city limits.
However, because some cities have more counties under their jurisdiction, or the proportion of mountainous areas, rivers and lakes is relatively large (such as Beijing, Hangzhou), this also affects the population density of the city. If only the population density of the main urban area is calculated, then the main city The difference between is relatively small.
Top 10 most densely populated cities
In this statistical result, the ten cities with the highest population density are Shenzhen, Dongguan, Shanghai, Xiamen, Foshan, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Shantou, Zhengzhou and Wuxi.
The population density of the first 8 cities exceeds 2,000 people per square kilometer.
As one of the four major first-tier cities, Shenzhen has a local area of 1,997 square kilometers. After joining the Shenzhen-Shantou Cooperation Zone, the total area of Shenzhen has reached 2,465 square kilometers, which is still the smallest urban area among megacities and megacities.
Just looking at the local area of Shenzhen (excluding the Shenzhen-Shantou Cooperation Zone), the population density has reached 8,821 people per square kilometer, more than twice that of the second-place Dongguan.
It is worth noting that a large part of the local area of Shenzhen is mountainous, that is to say, the actual population density of Shenzhen's urban areas has already exceeded the 10,000-person mark per square kilometer.
At present, the land space available for development in Shenzhen has been basically saturated.
According to the data from the Seven People's Population, Shenzhen's permanent population will reach 17.56 million in 2020, an increase of 7.14 million compared with 2010, and the new population ranks first in the country.
Under the influx of a large number of people, Shenzhen's current carrying capacity is gradually becoming saturated, especially the shortcomings of housing, education, and medical care are more obvious, and Shenzhen's public facilities are facing great pressure.
In this case, the threshold for settlement in Shenzhen is also increasing.
On May 25, 2021, the official website of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Justice released the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission's "Several Regulations on the Relocation of Household Registration in Shenzhen (Draft for Comment)", which raised the bottom line for educated talents to settle down, and approved The bottom line requirements for academic talents are adjusted to full-time undergraduates, the bottom line requirements for technical talents are adjusted to "intermediate professional title + full-time college", and the bottom line requirements for skilled talents are adjusted to technicians.
Dongguan, the "world factory" adjacent to Shenzhen, ranks second.
Dongguan, with an area of only 2,474 square kilometers, was upgraded to a prefecture-level city in 1988.
Since the reform and opening up, with the development of export trade, Dongguan has gradually developed into one of the largest manufacturing bases in the world. A modern industrial system with eight major industries as the pillars.
In recent years, Dongguan's industrial upgrading has been accelerating, and the high-tech industry has developed rapidly.
The development of the industry has also led to the influx of a large number of people.
According to the census of seven people, compared with the sixth national census in 2010, the permanent population of Dongguan increased by 2.2464 million, breaking the 10 million mark for the first time, reaching 10.4666 million, and further increasing to 10.5368 million in 2021.
In 2021, Dongguan's population density will reach 4,259 people per square kilometer, making it the prefecture-level city with the highest population density and second only to Shenzhen among all cities.
Shanghai's population density reached 3,926 people per square kilometer, ranking third.
Shanghai not only has a high population density, but also has a large built-up area and a large urban population.
Shanghai is the city with the largest urban population in my country. According to the seven-person general population, the urban population of Shanghai has reached 19.87 million, which is more than 2 million more than the second-placed Beijing.
The Pearl River Delta is the densest
Xiamen also has more than 3,000 people per square kilometer.
Xiamen is the city with the smallest land area among the first- and second-tier cities in my country, with only 1,700.61 square kilometers. In 2021, the resident population will reach 5.28 million, with 3,105 people living per square kilometer.
In terms of areas, there is a large gap between the population density inside and outside Xiamen Island. The land area of the island (including Gulangyu Island) is 157.98 square kilometers, the population of 2.11 million people in the seventh pu ).
Ding Changfa, associate professor of the Department of Economics of Xiamen University, analyzed the first financial analysis, and the population density of the city is affected by the numerator and denominator effects.
In terms of denominator, Xiamen itself is very small.
In terms of molecules, Xiamen's economic aggregate ranks 33rd in the country, attracting a large number of migrants.
Seven people's general data show that from 2010 to 2020, Xiamen's population growth rate reached 46.23%.
Ding Changfa said that there are many well-developed industries on Xiamen Island, such as exhibition industry, modern financial service industry, software information service industry, etc. At the same time, the transportation infrastructure, medical care, and school facilities on the island are also very good, so the population density is relatively high. high.
However, after so many years of development, the land development space in Xiamen Island has been relatively saturated, and housing prices are relatively high. In recent years, a large number of high-quality education and medical care have been built outside the island, including Jimei, Maluan Bay, southern Xiang'an, and Huandong waters. At the same time, several subway lines also connect the island and outside the island, and many manufacturing industries are located outside the island.
Outside the island, with industrial agglomeration, infrastructure, education and medical facilities, the population is also increasing rapidly.
The fifth to eighth cities are all from the Guangdong region, namely Foshan, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Shantou. The population density of the four cities is almost the same, ranging from 2,400 to 2,600 people per square kilometer. Among them, Zhongshan and Dongguan is similar. After the reform and opening up, it was upgraded from a county to a prefecture-level city. The overall land area is the size of a county, with a small area, a large foreign population and a large population density.
From the perspective of the top ten, Guangdong Province alone accounts for 6 cities, of which the Pearl River Delta accounts for 5.
Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Economic Reform Research Association, analyzed the first financial analysis. The Pearl River Delta has a small geographical space and is the city group with the highest population density in the country. At present, the large cities in the Pearl River Delta are basically seamless.
At the same time, several cities in the Pearl River Delta were upgraded from counties. In the past, most of the other provinces were transformed from one region into one city, while in the Pearl River Delta, one region was transformed into several cities, so that the area of a city was smaller. a lot of.
After the reform and opening up, the Pearl River Delta, relying on its unique geographical location adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, took advantage of the low-cost advantages of land and labor resources to attract the large-scale transfer of manufacturing industries from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the economy took the lead in rising.
Peng Peng said that the Pearl River Delta opened to the outside world early, attracted a lot of funds, and the demand for jobs was also large. The foreign population in the Pearl River Delta showed a geometric and jumping growth.
Outside the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong has another city with the eighth highest population density in the country, namely Shantou, which is located in eastern Guangdong, where economic development is relatively lagging behind.
Data show that Shantou, with an area of only 2,245 square kilometers, has a resident population of 5.5304 million, or 2,463 people per square kilometer.
The population density of Jieyang in the Chaoshan area also exceeds 1,000 people per square kilometer.
According to expert analysis, this is related to the strong local fertility culture and high birth rate.
Zhengzhou and Wuxi ranked ninth and tenth in terms of population density.
Zhengzhou is also the only city in the top 10 from the central and western regions.
From 2010 to 2020, Zhengzhou's population increased by 3.9741 million, ranking fifth in the country.
Henan, where Zhengzhou is located, is the province with the largest registered population in my country, with a registered population of over 100 million and a permanent resident population of 98.83 million. Therefore, there is still a lot of room for Zhengzhou's population growth in the future.
More than 1,000 people per square kilometer in 4 cities in the Midwest
Among the 21 cities with a population density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer, Guangdong accounts for 8, of which 6 are from the Pearl River Delta region and 2 are from Chaoshan region; there are 6 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, which are Shanghai, Zhejiang Jiaxing and Jiangsu. 4 cities—Nanjing, the provincial capital, and Suxichang in southern Jiangsu; in addition, there are two municipalities directly under the Central Government of Beijing and Tianjin, and Xiamen in southern Fujian.
Overall, there are 17 cities in the eastern region with a population density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer.
Due to natural geographical factors, some cities with more mountainous and hilly landforms in their jurisdictions are not ranked so high in overall population density.
For example, the land area of Beijing has reached 16,410 square kilometers, but the mountainous area accounts for 62%. Therefore, Beijing's urban population density ranks only 17th in the country. However, if only the main urban area is counted, then Beijing is one of the cities with the highest population density in China. one.
Similar to Beijing is Hangzhou, a new first-tier city with prominent digital economy development in recent years.
The terrain of Hangzhou is complex and diverse. The hills and mountains in the city account for 65.6% of the total area, concentrated in the west, central and southern parts; the plains account for 26.4%, mainly in the northeast; rivers, rivers, lakes and reservoirs account for 8.0%; 66.9%, ranking first among provincial capitals in the country.
Ding Changfa said that the land area of Beijing and Hangzhou is large enough, and the land needed for industrial and economic development does not need to be developed into non-plain areas.
For example, in Hangzhou, even if only 26.4% are plains, there is still a lot of room for development.
In addition, there are 4 cities in the central and western regions with a population density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer. They are Zhengzhou and Wuhan in the central region and Chengdu and Xi'an in the western regions. They are all powerful provincial capitals and new first-tier cities with rapid economic development in recent years.
From 2010 to 2020, the population increments of these four cities rank among the top ten of all cities in the country.
After these 21 cities, there are still some cities whose population density is closer to the 1,000 people/km2 mark, such as Ningbo and Nantong, which are 972 people/km2 and 967 people/km2, respectively.