From November 1st to December 10th in 2020, China started its seventh national population census(普查). 7 million census takers have asked each family about their name, gender(性别), age, education, job and so on. This census is different from the ones in the past. For the first time, citizens were encouraged to use smartphones and other digital tools to record their information.
China has a national population census every 10 years. The first one was done in 1953. At that time, there were about 600 million people in China. But China's population hasboomed. It was about 1.37 billion in 2010.
For the 2020's national population census, all people of China were included in the census. But Chinese citizens who had settled(定居) abroad and foreigners who were staying in China on either business or tourist visas(旅游签证) were not counted.
"The census is very important for every citizen," said Ning Jizhe. "It will help improve infrastructure(基础建设) and public services. For example, if census results show that there are many children living in an area, the government will know that it should build more schools there."
Scientists can also learn more about population growth from the census. In some years, the population grows faster than in others. Even in the same year, population growth is different in different places. Scientists can use the information to find out what causes growth in certain years and places.
