Shanghai has a population of approximately 28 million people as of 2025, making it the most populous city in China and one of the largest urban centres on Earth. The figure depends on how you count: the official registered permanent population sits at around 24.9 million, but adding the vast "floating population" of migrant workers who live and work in the city without local household registration pushes the real total past 28 million.
How Many People Live in Shanghai?
Shanghai is a provincial-level municipality, governed directly by the central government rather than by a province, and it spans 6,341 square kilometres. That area includes a dense urban core, sprawling suburbs, agricultural districts, and islands at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The municipality-wide population density averages roughly 3,900 people per square kilometre, but in the central districts it soars above 24,000 per square kilometre, ranking among the most crowded urban spaces anywhere.
For comparison, Shanghai's population is larger than that of entire countries such as Australia (around 27 million) or Saudi Arabia. If Shanghai were a nation, it would rank near the 50th most populous in the world. It comfortably outranks Beijing, China's capital, which has roughly 21.9 million residents, making Shanghai the country's clear demographic and economic heavyweight.
Registered Residents Versus the Floating Population
Understanding Shanghai's numbers requires understanding hukou, China's household registration system. A person's hukou ties them to public services such as schooling and healthcare in a specific place. Shanghai's registered permanent population is about 24.9 million, but millions of migrants from inland provinces live in the city long-term without a local hukou. This "floating population" works in construction, manufacturing, logistics, and services, and is essential to keeping the city running.
Because these residents are counted differently in different surveys, published figures for Shanghai range from about 24.9 million to over 28 million. The higher number better reflects the total number of people physically living in the metropolitan area on any given day.
Growth, Migration, and a Slowing Trend
Shanghai's modern expansion has been driven overwhelmingly by internal migration. In 1978, as China launched its economic reforms, the city had roughly 11 million residents. Decades of rapid industrialisation drew waves of newcomers from provinces such as Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, and Sichuan, and the migrant population grew from around 3 million in 2000 to more than 10 million by 2015.
That growth has cooled. The municipal government has actively worked to cap the population by tightening hukou registration, clearing informal housing, and relocating heavy industry to neighbouring cities in the Yangtze River Delta. Between 2022 and 2024 the permanent resident population dipped slightly for the first time in decades. Shanghai's own fertility rate is among the lowest in the world at roughly 0.7 births per woman, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a population, so natural growth is now negative and continued migration is what keeps the total stable. Demographers expect the population to plateau around 28 to 29 million through the mid-2030s.
Who Lives in Shanghai?
Shanghai's residents are predominantly Han Chinese, with smaller communities of Hui, Manchu, and other ethnic minorities. The city is also one of China's most international, hosting roughly 215,000 foreign residents. The largest groups come from Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Europe, clustering in areas such as Gubei, Hongqiao, and the former French Concession.
The population is highly educated and increasingly affluent: Shanghai residents enjoy the highest per capita disposable income in mainland China, and college enrolment is exceptionally high. The city is also ageing rapidly, with around a quarter of registered residents over the age of 60. The local Shanghainese dialect, a form of Wu Chinese unintelligible to Mandarin speakers, remains a cultural marker but is fading among younger generations as Mandarin dominates schools and media.
Pudong and Puxi: Two Halves of a Megacity
The Huangpu River splits Shanghai into Puxi ("west of the river") and Pudong ("east of the river"). Puxi is the historic core, home to the Bund waterfront, leafy French Concession streets, and crowded commercial districts like Nanjing Road. Pudong was largely farmland until the 1990s, when it was designated a Special Economic Zone; today its Lujiazui skyline, anchored by the 632-metre Shanghai Tower, holds roughly 5.7 million residents along with the city's main international airport and financial centre. Together these districts illustrate how dramatically and quickly Shanghai's population has reorganised itself. If you enjoy testing your knowledge of world cities and countries, try our geography games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shanghai the biggest city in China?
Yes. With around 28 million residents, Shanghai is China's most populous city, ahead of Beijing (about 21.9 million) and Chongqing's urban area. It is also China's leading financial and trading hub.
Is Shanghai bigger than Tokyo?
By city proper, Shanghai is larger, with roughly 28 million people compared to Tokyo's core of around 14 million. However, the Greater Tokyo metropolitan region, at about 37 million, is the most populous urban agglomeration in the world and outranks Shanghai's metro area.
Why does Shanghai's population have different reported numbers?
The variation comes from the hukou system. Official counts of registered permanent residents sit near 24.9 million, while estimates that include unregistered migrant workers exceed 28 million. Both figures are accurate for what they measure.
Is Shanghai's population growing or shrinking?
Growth has nearly stalled. A very low birth rate means the population would shrink without migration, and the permanent resident count edged down slightly in recent years. Officials aim to hold the total around 28 to 29 million through 2035.
