Fertility of Ethnic Minorities in China

Modern China consists of a population with diverse social, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds.  The uniqueness of these groups constitutes a mosaic of people who add to the ethnic diversity of the world’s most populous country.  According to the 2010 population census, over 90% consists of the Han people and the remainder are officially grouped into 56 “minority nationalities”, ranging in size from just under 4,000 to about 17 million.  The 12 largest minority groups (Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uygur, Yi, Tujia, Mongol, Tibetan, Pui, Dong and Yao) account for 85%  of all ethnic groups combined.  This paper will discuss the fertility differences among these minority groups and how they differ from the majority Han population.  Various fertility measures, both direct and indirect, will be used along with data on certain socio-economic factors affecting fertility.  Mainly data from the three most recent population censuses conducted in 1990, 2000 and 2010 will be used, however, data from earlier censuses of 1953, 1964 and 1982 will also be incorporated where available.  Our preliminary findings indicate that despite the fact that officially the “one-child” policy applies only to the Han people and not to the ethnic minorities, many ethnic groups have been experiencing fertility declines.