Provincial migration in China in the 1990s

Estimates of migration among the provinces of China were made by comparison of the provincial populations from the 1990 and 2000 censuses. The estimates were made by comparing the 2000 population of each province with what it would have been if population had increased solely due to natural growth-the excess of births over deaths. Unfortunately, the estimate of the increase in provincial populations due to migration was much greater than the estimate of the loss of population by migration. The estimate of the increase in population by inmigration was 39.7 million while the estimated outmigration was only 16.3 million. Possible reasons for the difference in the estimates are presented. Comparison was made between the 1999 population estimate and the 2000 estimate. Migration rates in the United States and China are compared. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.