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Tom O'Byrne, Beijing, ABC World News from Radio Australia
As China correspondent Tom O'Byrne reports, details
of last year's nationwide census are now being released.
Officials
from the National Bureau of Statistics say China's population
stands at 1-point-two-six-five billion people, and it's
growing by around 10 million people each year. The census
is confirming several well-known trends: a big jump in the
number of urban dwellers, a worrying rise in those older
than 65, and another decline in the average family size
to 3-point four people. Officials claim the government's
strict family planning policies are working, but while some
provinces are allowing second and even third children, most
Chinese families still have only one child. A worrying and
related trend, say officials, is that female infanticide
is far from bein eradicated.
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