II. Population

Total population: 50.49 million (2008)

Population growth rate: 8.7 percent (2008)

Ethnicity:

Guangxi is multi-ethnic region, where a number of ethnic groups live, including the largest groups such as the Zhuang, Han, Yao, Miao, Dong, Mulam, Maonan, Hui, Jing, Yi, Shui and Gelao, and some 25 smaller ones. The people of ethnic minority groups came to 17.956 million by 1999, accounting for 38.1 percent of the region’s total. The Zhuang is the largest ethnic minority group in the region, which has a population of 15.38 million.

Literacy:

The statistics available in 1999 showed that Guangxi had 157 primary schools, 36 middle schools, 22 polytechnic schools and three colleges specially for the students of minority nationalities. This enables the ratio of the schooling students of minority nationalities to exceed that of the population in the region’s total.