(Yicai) April 9 -- All the 18 Chinese provincial capital cities that released their population figures for last year have reported an increase in the number of permanent residents despite the country's decline in population.

Over 1.2 million new permanent residents moved to Chinese provincial capitals last year, with Xi'an in Shaanxi province, Zhengzhou in Henan province, and Kunming in Yunnan province reporting increases of 82,300, 180,000, and 80,000 people, respectively, according to recent official data.

In addition to the migration of people to the southeastern coastal areas of China, the concentration of people in provincial capital cities is another characteristic of the Chinese population.

Provincial capitals have more resources for public services and industries such as education and medical care, so they can provide more employment opportunities and better access to public services, attracting many people, Chen Jing'an, president of the Sichuan Population Association, told Yicai.

At the same time, many provinces are implementing plans to strengthen and promote the expansion of their capital cities. For example, Kunming aims to have an urban population of 10 million, a built-up area of 1,000 square meters, and a gross domestic product of over CNY1 trillion (USD138.3 billion) by 2025. The city's GDP is expected to reach CNY2.7 trillion by 2035.

The urbanization rate of the Chinese population is also accelerating, with the figure up 94 basis points to 66.16 percent last year from the previous one. Among the 18 provincial capital cities that released demographic data for last year, Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had the highest urbanization rate of 96.56 percent. The rates of Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Hefei exceeded 85 percent.

However, with the increases in population and urbanization rate, provincial capitals' industries and public services will face greater pressure, so provinces must promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas and balance the population among all cities within the region, Chen noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione