Preface

I. Population Growth in Xinjiang

II. Latest Demographics of Xinjiang

III. Demographic Changes in the Uygur Population

IV. Factors Contributing to Xinjiang's Demographic Development

V. Xinjiang's Population Prospects

VI. Falsehoods Fabricated by Anti-China Forces

Conclusion

Lying in northwest China and central Eurasia, Xinjiang has been a place inhabited by multiple ethnic groups since ancient times. In 60 BC, the Western Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Frontier Command to govern the Xinjiang area, officially incorporating the area into the Chinese territory. Over the following 2,000 years and more, various ethnic groups have emerged, divided and mixed there. Today they live together in harmony and have formed a diverse unity.

I. Population Growth in Xinjiang

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the mode of production in Xinjiang was backward and its productivity was low. Oppressed by foreign invaders, feudal exploiters, and a privileged religious hierarchy, people of all ethnic origins in the region led an extremely hard life with little security.

II. Latest Demographics of Xinjiang

According to preliminary data from the seventh national census in 2020, the total population of Xinjiang was 25.85 million, among which the Han ethnic group numbered 10.92 million, and ethnic minorities 14.93 million.

III. Demographic Changes in the Uygur Population

Xinjiang has enjoyed peace and development since 1949. After the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established in 1955, the CPC and the central government implemented regional autonomy to ensure the equal status of all ethnic groups, and adopted a series of preferential policies to assist and support regional development. Ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, including the Uygurs, entered an optimal period for development.

IV. Factors Contributing to Xinjiang's Demographic Development

Along with the process of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization, Xinjiang's demographic development went through three periods of growth: • high birth rates, high death rates and low growth rates; • high birth rates, low death rates and high growth rates; • low birth rates, low death rates and low growth rates.

V. Xinjiang's Population Prospects

Benefiting from consistent social stability, Xinjiang's population, in particular that of ethnic minority groups, will continue to maintain steady growth in the near term, improving the quality of the population and encouraging greater social and geographic mobility.

VI. Falsehoods Fabricated by Anti-China Forces

In recent years, various anti-China forces have been accusing China of actions such as "forced labor", "mandatory sterilizations", "parent-child separation", "cultural genocide", and "religious persecution". They smear Xinjiang, demonize China, and vilify China's governance of the region with accusations of "genocide".