Autonomous regions of China

Not to be confused with Special administrative regions of China or Autonomous administrative divisions of China.

The autonomous regions (Chinese: 自治区; pinyin: Zìzhìqū) are one of the four types of province-level divisions in the People's Republic of China. Like provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but under the law of the People's Republic of China, 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.

Autonomous regions 自治区 Zìzhìqū
Category	Unitary state
Location	China
Number	5 (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang)
Populations	110,879,058[a]
Areas	4,380,000 km2 (1,690,000 sq mi)[b]
Government	Regional People's Government, Central People's Government
Subdivisions	Prefecture-level city, prefecture, league, sub-provincial autonomous prefecture, autonomous prefecture

There are five autonomous regions in China: Guangxi, Inner Mongolia (Nei Menggu), Ningxia, Tibet (Xizang), and Xinjiang.

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 protested by the local Han Chinese, who made up two-thirds of the population of each region.^{[citation needed]} 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]

Legal rights

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]

Public goods and services

In general, China's minority regions have some of the highest per capita government spending on education, among other public goods and services.^[6]: 366 Providing public goods and services in these areas is part of a government effort to reduce regional inequalities, reduce the risk of separatism, and stimulate economic development.^[6]: 366

List of autonomous regions

Name in English	Simplified Chinese Pinyin	Abbreviation	Local name SASM/GNC romanization (Language)	Capital	Designated minority	Language	Pre-1949 ROC subdivision
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	内蒙古自治区 Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū	蒙 Měng (IMAR)	ᠦᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠣ ᠣᠷᠣᠨ Öbür mongüol-un öbertegen zasaqu orun (Mongolian)	Hohhot (呼和浩特) ᠬᠥᠬᠡᠬᠣᠲᠠ	Mongol	Mongolian	Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei, Xing'an, Gansu, and Ningxia
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region	广西壮族自治区 Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū	桂 Guì (GZAR)	Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigih (Standard Zhuang/Zhuang)	Nanning (南宁; Nanzningz)	Zhuang	Zhuang, Standard Zhuang (Vahcuengh)	Guangxi (province)
Tibet Autonomous Region	西藏自治区 Xīzàng Zìzhìqū	藏 Zàng (TAR)	བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས། Poi Ranggyong Jong (Standard Tibetan)	Lhasa (拉萨; ལྷ་ས།)	Tibetan	Standard Tibetan	Tibet Area, Xikang
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region	宁夏回族自治区 Níngxià Huízú Zìzhìqū	宁 Níng (NHAR)	The Hui speak Chinese	Yinchuan (银川)	Hui	Dungan, Chinese	Ningxia (province)
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region	新疆维吾尔自治区 Xīnjiāng Wéiwú'ěr Zìzhìqū	新 Xīn (XUAR)	شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni (Uyghur)	Ürümqi (乌鲁木齐; ئۈرۈمچی)	Uyghur	Uyghur	Xinjiang (province)

Statistics

Population

Administrative Division	National Share (%)	2020 Census[7]	2010 Census[8]	2000 Census[9]	1990 Census[10]	1982 Census[11]	1964 Census[12]	1954 Census[13]
Guangxi	3.55	50,126,804	46,026,629	43,854,538	42,245,765	36,420,960	20,845,017	19,560,822
Inner Mongolia	1.70	24,049,155	24,706,321	23,323,347	21,456,798	19,274,279	12,348,638	6,100,104
Ningxia	0.51	7,202,654	6,176,900	5,486,393	4,655,451	3,895,578	*	*
Tibet Autonomous Region	0.26	3,648,100	3,002,166	2,616,329	2,196,010	1,892,393	1,251,225	1,273,969
Xinjiang	1.83	25,852,345	21,813,334	18,459,511	15,155,778	13,081,681	7,270,067	4,873,608
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 Division	Titular Ethnic Group	Han Chinese	Other 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

• China portal

• Administrative divisions of China
  • Autonomous prefecture
  • Direct-administered municipalities of China
  • Provinces of China
  • Special administrative regions of China
• Autonomous administrative division
• Language Atlas of China
• Secession in China
• Standard Chinese
• Republics of Russia

Notes

1. Guangxi – 50,126,804
   Inner Mongolia – 24,049,155
   Ningxia – 7,202,654
   Xinjiang – 25,852,345
   Tibet – 3,648,100
2. 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)