(Yicai Global) May 24 -- The population of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province, also known as the ‘world’s factory’ as it is home to one of the globe’s largest manufacturing bases, has increased 27.33 percent in the last decade to top 10 million residents for the first time, according to the latest data.

Dongguan is now home to 10.47 million people, according to the seventh national census conducted in 2020. It is the third municipality in the province, which has the largest economy in China, to have more than 10 million permanent residents.

Some 2.25 million people moved into Dongguan over the last ten years due to a good business environment which led to an upsurge in employment and a large inflow of migrant workers, the census said. This gives an annual growth rate of 2.45 percent, a gain of 0.73 point from the ratio in the previous decade.

The floating population without an official household registration swelled 22.5 percent between 2010 and 2020 to 7.95 million people, the report said.

The demographic breakdown, though, remains young. Only 5.47 percent of residents in Dongguan are aged 60 and above, markedly lower than the province’s 12.35 percent and far below the nation’s 18.7 percent.

Population growth in the southern tip of Dongguan, which neighbors the hi-tech hub of Shenzhen, grew the fastest, according to Yicai Global research. This has to do with the spillover effect of Shenzhen-based telecoms giant Huawei Technologies’ businesses, Peng Peng, executive president of the Guangdong Institutional Reform Research Association, told Yicai Global.

As the rail network across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area gets denser, this will also bring economic benefits to Dongguan, he added.

Gender Imbalance

Dongguan has the highest ratio of men to women across the whole province at 130.06 men to every 100 women, the census showed. This is a big leap from the ratio of 117.81 in 2010 and shows that the 'world's factory' is attracting more men than women workers.

The gender ratio in Guangdong province is the highest in China at 113.08. All its big manufacturing hubs, including Shenzhen, Foshan and Zhongshan, have large gender imbalances at 122.43, 119.12 and 117.12, respectively.

People should not worry too much about there being more men than women, said Dong Yuzheng, head of the Guangdong Academy of Population Development. It cannot be ignored but the whole of society needs to figure out a way to help the younger generation find a spouse.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor