The increasing population of Shanghai is the biggest challenge for the city’s management and the government should launch effective strategies to deal with it, experts at an urban forum said before the World Population Day.
There were 13.34 million residents in 1990 and the figure climbed to 18.58 million last year. The average annual population increase over the 17 years was 300,000.
The major cause for the population explosion was the influx of migrant people, said officials from the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission.
There are 4.99 million migrant people who stay in the city at least six months of each year, accounting for 27 percent of local residents.
Experts said there was a rising number of elderly residents in the city. They said 20.8 percent of local residents last year were aged 60 or above. The percentage is double that of the national level.
“The big population also puts pressure on the environment, resources and infrastructure,” said Xie Lingli, director of Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission.
“Our policy should transfer from merely population control to enhance population quality.”
The forum suggested the city introduce talent from home and abroad and labor service staff such as technicians, construction workers and domestic helpers.
