Population and Society in Contemporary Tibet

4. Analysis of the Population Structure in the Tibetan Autonomous Region

4 Analysis of the Population Structure in the Tibetan Autonomous Region The Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) is unique among regions in the TIA when it comes to population analysis because of the availability of accurate data. Similar data for other Tibetan-inhabited areas are not recorded separately from provincewide data, or are provided only for administrative units, making analysis for these regions difficult. The TAR is situated in southwestern China and covers an area of 1.2 million square kilometers. Recent studies, including China’s Population: Tibet Volume (Liu Rui, 1988), Changes in Tibetan Population (Zhang Tianlu, 1989), Tibetan Population in Contemporary China (Sun Jingxin, ed. 1992) and Tibetan Population and Society in China (Sun Huaiyang and Cheng Xianmin, eds., 1999) provide useful insights to understanding historic changes in the Tibetan population. This chapter will first analyze the basic structural characteristics of the population of the TAR and then will analyze the changes in both the Tibetan and Han populations based on the 1982, 1990 and 2000 censuses. The first part of this chapter will summarize briefly the basic characteristics of the population in the TAR. The second part will focus on the structural analysis of that population by comparing the Han and Tibetan sub-groups. The third part will discuss three of the four major fields of demography: fertility, mortality and urbanization. Another field — migration — will be the focus of Chapter 5. All populations are influenced by their adaptation within a given environment — the ecosystem and the distribution of natural resources — and affected by the social and economic conditions of the locality. Part four will discuss the factors influencing the development of the population with regard to the natural ecological environment and socioeconomic conditions. 72 Population and Society in Contemporary Tibet The Major Characteristics of the Population in the TAR The TAR is situated on the Tibetan Plateau (“the roof of the world”) with an average altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by high snow mountains on all sides. The poor quality of the soil, the very limited rainfall, lack of oxygen and difficult transportation are among the factors that have led to its isolation and harsh conditions for development. These geographic and environmental factors have resulted in the three most basic population characteristics: ethnic homogeneity, low density in most areas and a low level of socioeconomic development. Homogeneity is the first important population characteristic. According to the 2000 census, the total ethnic Tibetan population of China was 5.42 million, ranking 10th by size among the 56 ethnic groups. About 44.8 percent of the Tibetans lived in the TAR. Compared with the four other autonomous regions, the TAR had the highest minority population by percentage (Table 4.1), comprising 92.8 percent of its total. Table 4.1. Ethnic Structure of Populations in Autonomous Regions (2000) * The data of TAR include 108,682 temporary in-migrants from other provinces. ** The data of TRA is the percentage of “non-agricultural population in total.” Sources: the census data. Autonomous regions Population of ethnic minorities (%) Population of major minority group (%) Population density (person / km2) Urban population (%) The TAR* 93.9 Tibetan 92.8 2.0 19.4 Xinjiang 59.4 Uygur 45.2 11.6 33.8 Guangxi 38.4 Zhuang 32.4 206.6 28.2 Ningxia 34.6 Hui 33.9 85.3 32.4 Inner Mongolia 20.8 Mongol 17.1 21.6 42.7 Whole China 8.5 Han 91.5 117.8 27.0 Low population density is the second characteristic of the TAR. With an area of 1.2 million square kilometers the TAR covers about one-eighth of China’s total territory. But with a population of only 2.51 million in 2000 it had a population density of 2.0 per square kilometer, the lowest in China. A large area in northern Tibet, Changthang, which is mainly desert and ice plateau with an average altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level, is uninhabited. Tibetans live largely in valleys of the middle reaches of the Yalu Tsangpo River. There are 18 counties in this valley area, which is also called the “district of one big river (Tsangpo) plus two small rivers (Lhasa River and Nianchu River).” 73 Analysis of the Population Structure in the Tibetan Autonomous Region Compared with the TAR as a whole the altitude in this area is lower, the rainfall higher, and there are...