China to conduct 1-pct sample census in 2015

BEIJING - China will conduct its fourth one-percent national sample census next year, covering a population of about 14 million, according to the General Office of the State Council.

The census, which will start on Nov 1, 2015, will cover about 60,000 residential quarters nationwide, said a circular issued by the office on Monday.

The census takers will survey residents' basic information such as name, gender, age, ethnic group, educational level, profession, migration status, social security, marriage, children and housing.

"Data collected in the new sample census will help find out changes in the number, quality, structure, layout and housing conditions of the country's population since the country conducted its last national census in 2010," the circular said.

The office said related data should only be used in the survey and should not be used to appraise administrative performance or to penalize the respondents.

China, the world's most populous country, has so far carried out six national censuses since 1949.

The Chinese government started in the 1980s to supplement thorough national censuses with sample censuses of one percent of the population. The country conducted such surveys in 1987, 1995 and 2005.

China encouraged having many children after the country was founded in 1949, as labor was vital to farm work. However, the population boom exerted great pressure on natural resources.

The country introduced a family planning policy in the 1970s and couples were generally asked to have only one child. As a result, the declining birth rate led to a rapidly aging country with a decreasing work force.

China eased its one child policy last year, allowing eligible couples to have a second child. The 2015 population survey will be the first following the loosened family planning measures.

According to the sixth census, China's population totaled 1.37 billion as of Nov. 1, 2010.