The growth of Chinese minority populations

The 55 recognized minority races in PRChina have a total population of 91.2 million. These peoples are distributed widely in two–thirds of China's territories.The minority population has grown rapidly since the 1960s. In this paper, I examine the major causes of this growth. They are the significant improvement of public health in the 1950s and 1960s, the leniency in the implementation of the birth control policies in minority communities, the relatively high birth and fertility rates in these communities, and the reaffirmation of racial identity in the 1980s.Most minority settlements are located in the less developed interior of China. Some of these areas are rich in minerals but they are not used most efficiently. Meanwhile, the land is over used. Today the Chinese advocate a faster economic development and a stricter birth control program for these areas.