【数字看中国】人口Population, An Impossible Head Count

China is the most populous country in the world. As of August 2015, its population had reached 1.4 billion, accounting for 20 percent of the world’s total. The United States, has a much smaller population of 323 million. Six Chinese cities boast a population that exceeds 10 million, and Shanghai takes the crown with 23 million. The city of New York, the most populous in America, has a meager 8.5 million. Although there are 56 different ethnic groups in China, 91.5 percent of the population are Han Chinese. Only one other group - the Zhuang - has a larger than 1 percent share. Today, China is considered a middle-income country, and its rapid growth over the decades has pulled hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. About 10 percent of the population live on one US dollar a day, compared to 64 percent just 35 years ago.