The data have been collected through a survey which covered around 226,000 rural workers from 31 provinces, 1,587 districts and 8,488 villages. Migrant laborers are defined as workers that are still registered as rural permanent residents, but have left their place of origin for more than six months in order to find work in another place. They either stay in the same province or move to another province in search of work.
Yangtze River Delta includes Shanghai, parts of Zhejiang and Jiangsu province. Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Suzhou, Wuxi are a few of the major cities in this region. Pearl River Delta covers the area around Guangdong province in South China. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, Huizhou, Dongguang are the main cities in this region. Jing-Jin-Ji Metropolitan Region includes Beijing, Tianjin, and surrounding regions in Hebei province.
Figures for earlier years have been taken from previous publications.
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Number of migrant workers in major destination regions in China 2017-2021
In 2021, the number of migrant workers in the Yangtze River Delta in China recovered from the drop caused by the coronavirus pandemic and increased to around million, while the number of workers in the Pearl River Delta declined slightly to around million. In 2012, the number of migrant workers in the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta had ranged at around **** and **** million respectively.
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National Bureau of Statistics of China. (April 29, 2022). Number of migrant workers working in the Yangtze, Pearl River Delta, and Jing-Jin-Ji Metropolitan Region in China from 2017 to 2021 (in millions) [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Retrieved August 03, 2026, from /statistics/259346/number-of-migrant-workers-in-jiangtze-and-pearl-river-delta-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China. "Number of migrant workers working in the Yangtze, Pearl River Delta, and Jing-Jin-Ji Metropolitan Region in China from 2017 to 2021 (in millions)." Chart. April 29, 2022. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Accessed August 03, 2026. /statistics/259346/number-of-migrant-workers-in-jiangtze-and-pearl-river-delta-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2022). Number of migrant workers working in the Yangtze, Pearl River Delta, and Jing-Jin-Ji Metropolitan Region in China from 2017 to 2021 (in millions). ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Inc.. Accessed: August 03, 2026. /statistics/259346/number-of-migrant-workers-in-jiangtze-and-pearl-river-delta-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China. "Number of Migrant Workers Working in The Yangtze, Pearl River Delta, and Jing-jin-ji Metropolitan Region in China from 2017 to 2021 (in Millions)." ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Inc., 29 Apr 2022, /statistics/259346/number-of-migrant-workers-in-jiangtze-and-pearl-river-delta-in-china/
National Bureau of Statistics of China, Number of migrant workers working in the Yangtze, Pearl River Delta, and Jing-Jin-Ji Metropolitan Region in China from 2017 to 2021 (in millions) ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, /statistics/259346/number-of-migrant-workers-in-jiangtze-and-pearl-river-delta-in-china/ (last visited August 03, 2026)
Number of migrant workers working in the Yangtze, Pearl River Delta, and Jing-Jin-Ji Metropolitan Region in China from 2017 to 2021 (in millions) [Graph], National Bureau of Statistics of China, April 29, 2022. [Online]. Available: /statistics/259346/number-of-migrant-workers-in-jiangtze-and-pearl-river-delta-in-china/
