Autonomous regions
自治区
Zìzhìqū
CategoryUnitary state
LocationPeople's Republic of China
Number5 (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Tibet)
Populations110,879,058
Guangxi – 50,126,804
Inner Mongolia – 24,049,155
Ningxia – 7,202,654
Xinjiang – 25,852,345
Tibet – 3,648,100
Areas4,380,000 km2 (1,690,000 sq mi)
Guangxi – 237,600 km2 (91,700 sq mi)
Inner Mongolia – 1,183,000 km2 (457,000 sq mi)
Ningxia – 66,400 km2 (25,600 sq mi)
Xinjiang – 1,665,000 km2 (643,000 sq mi)
Tibet – 1,228,000 km2 (474,000 sq mi)
Government
Subdivisions

The autonomous regions (Chinese: 自治区; pinyin: Zìzhìqū) are one of four types of province-level divisions of China. Like Chinese provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but under Chinese law, an autonomous region has more legislative rights, such as the right to "formulate self-government regulations and other separate regulations."[1] An autonomous region is the highest level of minority autonomous entity in China, which has a comparably higher population of a particular minority ethnic group.

History

Established in 1947, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region became the first autonomous region in the Chinese liberated zone. Xinjiang was made autonomous in 1955 after the PRC's founding, and Guangxi and Ningxia were made autonomous in 1958. Tibet was annexed by the People's Republic of China in 1951, and was declared an autonomous region in 1965. The designation of Guangxi and Ningxia as Zhuang and Hui autonomous areas, respectively, was bitterly protested by the local Han Chinese, who made up two-thirds of the population of each region. Although Mongols made up an even smaller percentage of Inner Mongolia than either of these, the ensuing Chinese Civil War gave little opportunity for protest.[2]

Autonomous regions in China have no legal right to secede, unlike in the Soviet Union – the Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, written in 1984, states that "each and every ethnic autonomous region is an inseparable part of the People's Republic of China," and that "any form of ... separatism ... is absolutely prohibited."[3][4][5]

List of autonomous regions

Designated
minority
Name in English Simplified Chinese
Pinyin
Local name
SASM/GNC romanization (Language)
Abbreviation Capital Language Pre-1949 ROC subdivision
Zhuang Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 广西壮族自治区
Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū
Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigih (Standard Zhuang/Zhuang)
Guì
(GZAR)
Nanning
(南宁; Nanzningz)
Zhuang, Standard Zhuang language (Vahcuengh) Guangxi (province)
Mongol Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 内蒙古自治区
Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū
ᠦᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠣ ᠣᠷᠣᠨ
Öbür mongüol-un öbertegen zasaqu orun (Mongolian)

Měng
(IMAR)
Hohhot
(呼和浩特; ᠬᠥᠬᠡᠬᠣᠲᠠ)
Mongolian Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei, Xing'an, Gansu and Ningxia.
Tibetan Tibet Autonomous Region 西藏自治区
Xīzàng Zìzhìqū
བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས།
Poi Ranggyong Jong (Standard Tibetan)

Zàng
(TAR)
Lhasa
(拉萨; ལྷ་ས།)
Standard Tibetan Tibet Area, Xikang
Uyghur Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 新疆维吾尔自治区
Xīnjiāng Wéiwú'ěr Zìzhìqū
شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى
Xinjang Uyĝur Aptonom Rayoni (Uyghur)

Xīn
(XUAR)
Ürümqi
(乌鲁木齐; ئۈرۈمچی)
Uyghur Xinjiang (province)
Hui Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 宁夏回族自治区
Níngxià Huízú Zìzhìqū
The Hui speak Chinese
Níng
(NHAR)
Yinchuan
(银川)
Dungan, Chinese Ningxia (province)

Statistics

Population

Administrative DivisionNational Share (%) 2020 Census[6]2010 Census[7]2000 Census[8]1990 Census[9]1982 Census[10]1964 Census[11]1954 Census[12]
Guangxi3.55 50,126,80446,026,62943,854,53842,245,76536,420,96020,845,01719,560,822
Inner Mongolia1.70 24,049,15524,706,32123,323,34721,456,79819,274,27912,348,6386,100,104
Ningxia0.51 7,202,6546,176,9005,486,3934,655,4513,895,578**
Tibet Autonomous Region0.26 3,648,1003,002,1662,616,3292,196,0101,892,3931,251,2251,273,969
Xinjiang1.83 25,852,34521,813,33418,459,51115,155,77813,081,6817,270,0674,873,608
Total 7.85 110,879,058 101,725,350 93,740,118 85,709,802 74,561,891 41.714,947 31,808,503

Ethnic

Administrative DivisionTitular Ethnic GroupHan ChineseOther ethnic minorities
Xinjiang (Uyghur)45.0%42.2%12.8%
Tibet (Tibetan)86.0%12.2%1.8%
Inner Mongolia (Mongol)17.7%78.7%3.6%
Ningxia (Hui)35.0%64.1 %0.9%
Guangxi (Zhuang)31.4%62.5 %6.1%

See also

References

  1. "Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities in China (2005)". english1.english.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  2. Dreyer, June Teufel (1997). "Assimilation and Accommodation in China". In Brown, Michael Edward; Ganguly, Šumit (eds.). Government Policies and Ethnic Relations in Asia and the Pacific. MIT Press. p. 365.
  3. "First Union Constitution". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. 2015-08-27. Archived from the original on 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2021-07-07. ARTICLE 4. Each one of the member Republics retains the right to freely withdraw from the union.
  4. "中华人民共和国民族区域自治法 – Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy". www.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2005-12-10. Retrieved 2021-07-07. 各民族自治地方都是中华人民共和国不可分离的部分 – Each and every ethnic autonomous region is an inseparable part of the People's Republic of China.
  5. Zhu, Yuchao; Blachford, Dongyan (2006-08-31). "China's Fate as a Multinational State: a preliminary assessment". Journal of Contemporary China. 15 (47): 329–348. doi:10.1080/10670560500535043. ISSN 1067-0564. S2CID 154008693. Based on China's Constitution, any sub-national unit, either a province or an ethnic minority autonomous region, does not legally have the right to secede from China.
  6. "Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 3)". stats.gov.cn. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. "Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census". National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2013-07-27.
  8. 现将2000年第五次全国人口普查快速汇总的人口地区分布数据公布如下. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-08-29.
  9. 中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九九〇年人口普查主要数据的公报. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-06-19.
  10. 中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九八二年人口普查主要数字的公报. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10.
  11. 第二次全国人口普查结果的几项主要统计数字. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14.
  12. 中华人民共和国国家统计局关于第一次全国人口调查登记结果的公报. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05.
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