Defining China's Rural Population
Martin, M.F.
The China Quarterly 130: 392-401
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0305-7410 Document Number: 319019
It is standard practice, both within and outside China, to divide its population between rural and urban. However, this distinction is more complex than at first appears. China's State Statistical Bureau uses three distinct concepts when defining China's rural population. These have been translated into "rural," "agricultural" and "countryside" definitions. A further complication is that the people included in each of these definitions has changed over time. As a result, data for China's rural population is ambiguous unless the user can determine which of the three definitions is being used and from which period.