Census: Beijing's Foreign Population Dips

The release of China’s census data has been making headlines around the world. While most outlets have focused on the country’s slow population growth, we couldn’t help but draw our attention to a certain demographic – foreigners living in Beijing.

Despite the census being conducted after many foreigners had fled due to the coronavirus outbreak, overall, the number of foreigners in China has grown significantly since the 2010 census, landing at over 800,000 foreigners living in in 2020, up from less than 600,000 a decade prior. Several provinces including Yunnan, Guangdong, and Fujian saw increases in foreign population – but, for whatever reason, Beijing was not among them.

Instead, the number of foreigners in the capital dropped from over 107,000 in 2010 to just under 63,000 in 2020. (Interestingly, that mirrors the numbers coming out of Fujian province, which saw a bump from 62,000 to over 107,000 foreigners). Shanghai joined Beijing in leaking foreigners, dropping from 208,000 to 163,000. So far, data has not been provided for any other cities.

Unfortunately, the census can tell us little about why Beijing’s foreign population has declined, but we do know that for those who have stuck with the city, it’s not entirely a bad thing. For one thing, demand for foreigners in job markets has not declined in the city, giving stayers more bargaining power. Meanwhile, international lifestyle in the city is as alive and booming as ever as restaurants serving global cuisine continue to open and flourish.

In any case, the data released so far is part of a rough draft of the full report, and we expect more info to be released soon, including a breakdown of the foreigner population by nationality. Until then, it's important to remember that "foreign" does not mean non-Asian, contrary to what many Western foreigners may picture. In fact, the majority of foreigners in China tend to hail from neighboring Asian nations, and Yunnan, which alone accounts for 80% of China's increase in foreign population over the past decade, is likely seeing an influx of immigration from Myanmar and Vietnam.

Additional reporting by Michael Wester.

READ: Beijinger Survey UPDATE: 80 Percent of Foreigners Have Begun Vaccination

Images: Afinance, Joey Knotts