ABSTRACT
The aggregate area of a country consists of water area and land area. The land area of China was estimated by the Nationalist Government in 1948 to be 9,700,000 square kilometers. The principal sources of information on Communist China's population are the census of June 30, 1953, the system of population registration, and a number of vital rates surveys. The population totals of June 30, 1953, given in both the report on preliminary findings by Teng Hsiao-ping and the SSB communique, consist of two component parts, namely, the population by direct census registration and the population indirectly surveyed. Detailed statistics on the breakdown of the Chinese population by ethnic groups were released for 1953 in the SSB Census Communique. The statistical tabulation of the urban and rural population during the period covered followed essentially the criteria for demarcation of urban and rural areas outlined in a State Council resolution in 1955.
