China population to officially hit 1.3 billion

China, the world's most populous country, is expected to reach an official population of 1.3 billion on Thursday, state media said, despite a quarter century of its one-child policy.

Xinhua news agency credited that policy with successfully delaying hitting the 1.3 billion figure for four years.

"Although the population growth rate has been reduced, the actual increase is still huge," Xinhua quoted an official at the State Commission for Population and Family Planning as saying.

China is expected to add about 10 million to its population each year, demographics experts have said, and has no plans to ease the one-child policy, despite concerns about low urban birth rates and an ageing population.

The strict rules on family size have also resulted in a gender imbalance in China, with about 117 boys for 100 girls, as a cultural preference for sons prompts couples, usually in rural areas, to abort girls.

At the end of 2003, the total world population stood at 6.27 billion people, according to the World Bank.

China, with 1.29 billion people, had the biggest population, followed by India, with 1.06 billion; the United States, with 291 million; Indonesia, with 214 million; and Brazil, with 177 million people.

- REUTERS