China turning more urban than rural in historic population shift

Beijing, Jan 18 (ANI): City dwellers in China now outnumber rural dwellers for the first time as more people seek better economic opportunities, official figures show.

According to the China Daily, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that there were now 690.8 million people - 51.3 percent of China's total 1.3 billion population - in urban areas.

The 21 million who moved to cities in 2011 included a large number of migrant workers, according to the NBS.

In comparison, there are 656.6 million people living in rural areas.

That city dwellers now outnumber the rural population comes as no surprise.

China released the results of its census - conducted once every 10 years - in April 2011, and these figures showed a dramatic rural to urban shift. (ANI)