Administration
Shenzhen is a city in Guangdong Province administered by the Guangdong Provincial Government. It is also a vice-provincial city directly administered by the Central Government. The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is within the city’s administration. The Shenzhen Municipal Government governs six districts. Luohu, Futian, Nanshan and Yantian districts are within the Special Economic Zone, while Bao’an and Longgang districts are outside it. The city has a total of 51 sub-district offices and 620 residents’ committees. In 2006, 378 million people visited the Special Economic Zone, and 110 million vehicles passed through the city’s various checkpoints.
Demographic Structure
Although migrants began moving to the Shenzhen area at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), dramatic population growth occurred only after Shenzhen City was founded in 1980. By the end of 2006, the city had 8.4643 million permanent residents, of whom 1.9683 million were hukou households, and 6.496 million were non-hukou households. The non-hukou households made up 76.7 percent of the total population. The city’s population density is 4,334 people per square kilometer. The average expectation of life in the city is 76.71 years old, which is more than some advanced countries. Shenzhen has a minority population of more than 360,000 people, and is the second city in China after Beijing to have all 56 ethnic minorities in China represented in it.
