Title: The population distribution pattern in Xinjiang autonomous region.

POPLINE Document Number: 101459

Author(s):

Yuan X

Source citation:

CHINESE JOURNAL OF POPULATION SCIENCE, 1994;6(3):281-92.

Abstract:

Population distribution in Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China follows a high-density horseshoe-shaped pattern of oases surrounded by mountains and desert comprising 70% of the territory. The Region has the largest geographic area of all provinces, has 15.8 million people, and a population density of 9.5/sq. km. 90% of the total population lives in the more than 500 oases, with a population density of 200 people/sq. km. About 80% of the population has lived in the northwestern part of the province over the past 40 years; density is 15.5 people/sq. km compared to only 3.2 people/sq. km in the southeast. Population concentration is affected by natural resource distribution (water), industrial and agricultural production, transportation, and immigration. Population density increased by 4.7 times in northern Xinjiang, 1.2 times in the south, and 2.9 times in the east. Population concentration is also affected by elevation patterns. The largest population (46.33%) is situated in areas 1000-1500 meters above sea level, with declines at either increased or decreased elevations. Population density declines as elevation increases. Most of the old oases were situated in basins between 500 and 1000 meters in the north and between 1000 and 1500 meters in the south. Areas below 500 meters in the north and areas below 100 meters in the south are desert. Population distribution varied among the southern slope of the Altay Mountains, the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains between 100 and 2500 meters, the eastern part of the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, the western part of the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, in Pamirs and the eastern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, and old oases at 500-1000 meters in the heart of Xinjiang, where major transportation routes cross China.

Keywords:

China
Population Distribution
Population Density
Geographic Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Population Policy
Developing Countries
Asia, Eastern
Asia
Population
Economic Factors
Social Policy
Policy