Beijing Population
According to the official Chinese Xinhau News Agency the population of Beijing has risen to 17,140,000 inhabitants.
The total includes 12.04 million permanent residents holding the Beijing hukou (户口) household registration permit and 5.1m migrants. Beijing has approximately 50,000 births each year, expected to rise this year due to the belief that the "Year of the Pig" is an auspicious year for having children.
The local authorities have set a ceiling of 18 million for Beijing's population from 2020. Beijing's large population is straining the city's natural environment and resources with 14 million people quoted as the figure that the city can feed.
Beijing's canine population is also on the rise along with China's growing middle class with a total of 703,879 registered dogs, despite expensive licensing fees and a limit on one dog per household in the city.
Beijing is China's second largest city after Shanghai.
© Beijing-Visitor.com
