China is home to 56 ethnic groups, with Han Chinese making up 92% of the population. Because Han Chinese are the majority, China's other ethnic groups are usually referred to as 'national minorities'. Han live throughout the country but are mainly concentrated along the Yellow River, Yangzi River and Pearl River basins.

China's minority groups are also found throughout the country but their main distributions are along the border regions of northwest and southwest China and from the north to the northeast. Yunnan is home to more than 20 ethnic groups and is one of the most ethnically diverse provinces in the country. The largest minority groups in China include the Zhuang, Manchu, Miao, Uighur, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongolian, Buoyei, Dong, Yao, Korean, Bai, Hani, Li, Kazak and Dai.

Maintaining amicable relations with the minorities has been a continu- ous problem for the Han Chinese. Tibet and Xinjiang are heavily garri- soned by Chinese troops, partly to protect China's borders and partly to prevent rebellion among the local population. The Chinese government has also set up special training centres, such as the National Minorities Institute in Beijing, to train minority cadres for these regions.

China faces enormous population pressures, despite comprehensive programmes to curb its growth. Over 40.5% of China's population live in urban centres, putting great pressure on land and water resources. It's estimated that China's total population will continue to grow at a speed of eight to 10 million each year and even with population programmes such as the one-child policy (opposite) in place, experts claim that China needs at least 30 more years to achieve zero population growth. An unbalanced gender ratio (117 boys to  100 girls) and a rapidly ageing population are very serious problems authorities are trying to address. In 2003, over 10% of China's population was over 60. This is expected to increase to 15.6% by 2020.

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