Why are there so many Chinese?

Indeed, the population of the people’s Republic of China alone (and Chinese people live outside its borders) has already exceeded 1.3 billion people and continues to grow.

However, it is not necessary to talk about a “demographic explosion” or “global dominance of the Chinese”. According to UNESCO, the population growth rate in China is 0.629% per year, while the global figure is 1.159%.

The growth rate of China’s population has been steadily declining since 1979, when the country’s leadership began implementing the one — family-one-child policy.

The Chinese are the most numerous nation on Earth, and have been so throughout the known history of mankind. In the early middle ages, when the entire population of Europe did not exceed 5-6 million people, the Chinese were already several tens of millions.

The reason for such a large Chinese population, scientists see in extremely favorable conditions for growing rice-the basis of Chinese nutrition. In the vast territory of South-Eastern China, you can harvest two rice crops a year, and in the southern regions – three.