The Distribution 
of 
the Ov erseas
Chinese in the Contemporary World
Dudley L. Poston, Jr.
Comell University
Mei-YuYu
Univ ersity 
of 
Michigan
This article examines the distribution of the overseas Chinese in the
contemporary world. Data are analyzed on the numbers of overseas
Chinese in six continents and in more than 130 countries and areas
from the end of the 1940s to the early 1980s. In the circa 1980 period,
there were between 26.8 million and 27.5 million overseas Chinese.
Also, die data indicate that the overseas Chinese population has
steadil
y 
increased in recent decades. The overseas Chinese now live in
almost all parts of the world. Although their distribution is widespread,
it is uneven. Changes in the magnitude of the overseas Chinese
population are affected by Chinese international migration patterns
and b
y 
overseas Chinese mortality and fertility. These demographic
processes are discussed in the context of overseas Chinese migration.
This article examines the geographical distribution of the population of
overseas Chinese in the contemporary world.
1 
The topic is an interesting
and relevant one for several reasons.
First, since Chinese civilization reaches back for more than four thousand
years, the Chinese have had the opportunity for millennia to migrate to
virtuall
y 
all the areas in the world. Second, perhaps as a consequence of the
preceding, the overseas Chinese today are widely distributed around the
world and live in almost every country. Indeed, the famous Chinese poem
1 
In this article the term overseas Chinese refers to persons of Chinese ancestry living abroad.
This term is used with some hesitation. Chinese Americans have worked hard to combat the
characterization of Chinese Americans as overseas Chinese. The label "overseas Chinese" has
both a legal and symbolic meaning of representing permanently a foreign presence by virtue of
race. Some feel that nationality should override such a label, and that an overseas Chinese in the
United States should be referred to as a Chinese American. We agree with these important
viewpoints, and our employment of the term "overseas Chinese" in no way indicates any racist
assumption on our part. We use the term in this article because of its continued and accepted
use in the international arena, and because there is no convenient and short alternative available
to represent persons of any Chinese ancestry who are living abroad, other than the term
"overseas Chinese."
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 481
that 
"
wherever the ocean waves touch, there are overseas Chinese
" 
describes
well the widespread distribution of the overseas Chinese. Third, although
many overseas Chinese have become naturalized as citizens in their host
countries, the overseas Chinese have not disappeared, and it is not likel
y
that they will in the years ahead (Wen, 1985). This fact is due in part to the
broad definition employed b
y 
most researchers of the overseas Chinese.
Finally, the overseas Chinese have had important social, economic and
cultural influences in many of their host countries (Skinner, 1957; Elegant,
1959; Chan, 1983; Kotkin and Kishimoto, 1988); moreover, they have also
made important contributions to their home country of China (Nanyang
Baoshe Youxian Gongshi, 1951; Fitzgerald, 1972; He, 1984). The overseas
Chinese are not an inconsequential population. According to scholars in the
People
's 
Republic of China (Beijing Foreign Language College, 1979), the
history of Chinese emigration may be divided into four main periods. The
first is the "Ancient period" covering the Chinese dynasties from two and
three thousand years ago to the mid-Qing dynasty in the ei
g
hteenth century;
during this long period, Chinese mainly emigrated to other Asian countries,
particularly Southeast Asia (Legge, 1886; Yu, 1951; Uchida, 1960; Fitzger-
ald, 1965; 1972; Hsieh, 1973; Yang, 1985).
The second period covers the decline of Imperial China through the
Republican period (the nineteenth century to the late 1940s), when Chinese
migrated to most parts of the world, with much of the emigration from China
during this period involving 
"coolie trade" 
(Campbell, 1923; McKenzie,
1925; Stewart, 1951; Rung, 1962; Shen, 1970; Hsieh, 1973; Uu and Smith,
1974; Meigher, 1975; Zo, 1978; Hune, 1979; Mei, 1979).
The third period covers the first three decades of the People
's Re
p
ublic
of China (late 1940s to late 1970s) when Chinese emigration from the
mainland was severel
y 
restricted; onl
y 
small amounts of legal emigration
occurred during this period (Purcell, 1965; Nee and Nee, 1972 ; Wu, 1973;
Wen, 1985).
The fourth is the contemporary period, covering the years since the
Chinese government opened the country to foreigners (Ji, 1983; Renmin
Ribao (Peop le
'
s Daily), 1985a; Burns, 1987). Of course, these latter two periods
apply 
onl
y 
to Chinese emigration fro m the mainland. Although originating
from a decidedl
y 
smaller population base, Chinese emigration during these
periods from Taiwan has not been constrained by Communist policies on
the mainland.
Despite the extensive literature on the patterns of Chinese emigra
tion
and on the adaptation and behavior of the overseas Chinese, there has been
little attention directed to an examination of questions such as the following:
How many overseas Chinese are there in the world today? How are they
482 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
distributed among the world's regions? What have been their patterns of
population change in recent decades?
This article addresses these and other questions. The various definitions
of the overseas Chinese are discussed. The kinds of data used are noted.
Finally, some of the demographic factors influencing the current worldwide
distribution of the overseas Chinese are reviewed.
DEFINITIONS OF OVERSEAS CHINESE
Traditionally, China and the Chinese people have regarded all Chinese
living abroad as Chinese. The first Nationality Law promulgated by the
Qing government in March, 1909, stipulated that despite the locality in
which children were born, children of a Chinese father were Chinese; so
also were children of a Chinese mother if the father
's nationalit
y 
was
unknown. According to this law, therefore, when a Chinese person left China
he remained Chinese in the eyes of Chinese law, even if he became natural-
ized in his new country of residence (Chutung, 1910).
The Second Nationality Law passed b
y 
the National Government
(Guomintang) in 1929 also held to the rule of j us sanguinis in determining
nationality. The rule maintained that a child's citizenship was determined
b
y 
his parents
' 
citizenship. With the establishment in 1949 of the People
'
s
Republic of China, this nationality law remained unchanged. However,
many host countries of the overseas Chinese have adopted the role 
of 
j us
soli; that is, the position that the citizenshi
p 
of a child is determined b
y 
his
p
lace of birth. Hence "the national status of those who were born of Chinese
parents domiciled in those (respective host) countries was contested and
many complicated problems arose from their dual nationality
" (Uchida,
1960:13).
In April, 1955, Zhou Enlai, the former Premier of the People
'
s Republic
of China, stated at the Asian-African Conference at Bandung that the
problem of dual nationality is something left behind from Old China, and
that the People
'
s Government of New China was read
y 
to solve the problem
of dual nationality of overseas Chinese with the governments of the coun-
tries concerned (Li and Shang, 1985).
A treaty was eventually signed between Indonesia and China during the
conference. A main provision of this treaty was that all persons holding dual
nationality must choose one citizenshi
p 
within a certain time period. Al-
though the treaty was not ratified for five years, its main viewpoints reflect
a real departure in the attitude of China towards the conceptualization and
definition of the overseas Chinese (Purcell, 1965).
In September, 1980, a new Nationality Law of the People
'
s Republic of
China that integrates jus soli and jus sanguinis was adopted at the Third
Session of the Fifth National People
'
s Congress. The law specifies that
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 483
Chinese citizens are not allowed to hold dual citizenship; any Chinese
national who has settled abroad and has been naturalized there or has
acquired foreign nationality of his own free will automatically loses Chinese
nationality (Gong, 1980). Accordingly, in China today, the term hua ren is
commonl
y 
used to refer to overseas Chinese who have been naturalized b
y
their host countries and the term hua 
q
iao to refer to overseas Chinese still
retaining their Chinese nationality (Wen, 1985).
These classifications of the overseas Chinese parallel to some degree the
types of classificatio n used by Taiwan. Taiwan
's Overseas Chinese Affairs
Commission has stated (1984) that the term 
"overseas Chinese" refers
broadl
y 
to all Chinese living abroad, including hua 
q
iao, hua ren and hua 
y
i
(persons who are the descendants 
of Chinese parents).
This article employs a rather broad definition of the overseas Chinese,
defining as overseas Chinese all Chinese living abroad (outside of Mainland
China and Taiwan). This definition includes all persons with any Chinese
ancestry.
DATA
To ascertain the distribution of overseas Chinese in the world, data were
gathered on the number of overseas Chinese in six continents and in more
than 130 countries and areas for one or more time periods from the end of
the 1940s to the earl
y 
1980s. These data have been taken from three sources:
Taiwan
's relevant statistics; the volumes of the national censuses of various
countries of the world ; and recent data and publications from the People
'
s
Republic of China.
There are several yearbooks published in Taiwan that proved to be very
valuable data sources. The China Yearbook (before 1958, known as the China
Handbook) and the Statistical Abstract of the Rep ublic of China include in each
issue one chapter devoted largely to overseas Chinese topics. The Yearbook of
the Overseas Chinese Economy presents recent information about the various
host countries of the overseas Chinese, as well as data on the numbers of
overseas Chinese b
y 
country and area.
The national censuses of various countries of the world are a second
excellent source of data with regard to the number of overseas Chinese. The
Censuses of Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago
and New Zealand, for example, report data on the number of persons whose
racial ori
g
in is identified as Chinese (these numbers typically refer to all
Chinese living abroad in the host countries). Other national censuses pro-
vide data specificall
y 
on the nationality or citizenshi
p 
of foreigners (i.e., the
number of hua 
q
iao). Some national censuses have information on both the
number of persons whose racial origin is identified as Chinese and the
number of citizens of China. The United Nations has gathered and compiled
484 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
most of these national census data on the ethnic composition and citizenship
of the population in their Demograp hic Yearbook issues of 1956, 1963, 1964,
1971, 1973, 1977, 1979 and 1983.
Considerabl
y 
fewer data on the geographical distribution of the overseas
Chinese in the world have been released in recent decades b
y 
the Peopled
Republic of China. However, numerous insightful and informative articles
about the overseas Chinese have been published recently (in Chinese),
perhaps as a result of the newly promulgated open door policy of China with
the outside world. Most issues 
of Renmin Ribao 
(Peop le
' s Dail
y), for instance,
report news about the overseas Chinese. Another most important source
of data and information from the Peopled Republic of China is Zheng
's
(1985) book Hai-wai Chizi Hua Oiao (The Overseas Chinese). Although some of
the data in this book are estimates, Zheng has made an important contribu-
tion toward our understanding of the distribution of the overseas Chinese:
his book provides up-to-date information on the overseas Chinese popula-
tion in certain countries, such as North Korea, Mongolia, and certain
Eastern European and African countries, that is not available either in
Taiwan's statistics or in the national censuses.
All of these data are important for an understanding of the number and
distribution of the overseas Chinese. However, they all have advantages and
disadvantages. Taiwan
's data are provided for the most 
part by the Taiwan
agencies that are stationed in the foreign countries and b
y 
various organi-
zations of overseas Chinese; some of these data are adopted from the reports
of governments or other agencies of the host countries. Taiwan
's statistics
are most valuable because they are relativel
y sys
tematic, comparable and
up-to-date; on the other hand, Taiwan
's data sometimes tend to be somewhat
at variance from those published b
y 
the host countries. Also, Taiwan
'
s data
usuall
y 
do not include information for countries who do not have friendly
relations with Taiwan.
The data from the national censuses probabl
y 
provide the more accurate
information on the number of overseas Chinese. Some censuses also contain
data on the age and sex composition and socioeconomic status of the
overseas Chinese. These kinds of cross tabulations are particularly helpful
for understanding the demographic, social and economic characteristics of
the overseas Chinese. However, unless examined carefully, meaningful
international comparisons based on census data are ofte n risky because, as
noted earlier, many countries use different definitions or measurements of
the overseas Chinese. Also, the geographic coverage of available data from
the National Censuses is not as extensive as that of Taiwan
'
s statistics.
Finally, although few data on the distribution of the overseas Chinese
have been provided b
y 
the People
'
s Republic of China, some of the PRC
'
s
p
ublications in recent years 
g
ive information on the overseas Chinese
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 485
population for certain countries and areas for which data have 
previousl
y
not been available.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE OVE RSEAS CHINESE IN
THE 1980s
An extensive stud
y 
and evaluation of data from three distinct sources with
regard to the number and distribution of overseas Chinese was undertaken,
using our own demographic judgment and understanding of population
growth and change dynamics to evaluate these numbers and data sets.
Accordingly, we arrive at what we deem to be the best estimate of overseas
Chinese for a particular country. We began with the overseas Chinese
tabulations provided b
y 
Taiwan, since they are the most inclusive and
comprehensive. For those countries providing information in their national
censuses on the numbers of overseas Chinese, we then took these data and
compared them with those provided b
y 
Taiwan. The data on the overseas
Chinese provided b
y 
the People
's 
Republic of China were examined; most
frequently, these PRC data were for countries for which overseas Chinese
data were not provided b
y 
Taiwan or b
y 
the national censuses. We added to
our listings the tabulations provided by the People
'
s Republic of China. In
those cases where data were available from two sources for the same country,
where the numbers of overseas Chinese as reported b
y 
the two sources were
markedl
y 
different, and where it was difficult to decide which data were best,
we have entered both numbers. Otherwise, onl
y 
one number for each
country is entered. The results of the data gathering and assembling are
shown in Table 1.
From the data in Table 1, several observations may be made. Chinese
people are found in most parts of the world. According 
to the data in column
2 there were between 26.8 million and 27.5 million 
overseas Chinese in the
world in the earl
y 
1980s. The distribution of the overseas Chinese is
widespread but uneven. Of the total overseas Chinese in the world in the
earl
y 
1980s, more than 90 percent resided in Asia. About 60 percent of the
overseas Chinese who lived outside Asia were concentrated in the Americas.
Another 760,000 overseas Chinese were living in Europe; 177,000 in
Oceania; and 77,000 in Africa. The numbers of the overseas Chinese also
vary remarkably among the individual countries, from many 
million in
some Asian countries and areas, to onl
y 
an estimated ten in Morocco and
onl
y 
one reported in the British Virgin Islands. While most live in Asia, a
rough estimate is that there were about 2.5 million overseas Chinese in
continents other than Asia for the period circa 1980. Around 85 percent of
them were concentrated in the more developed countries. The populations
of the overseas Chinese of the United States and Canada, for example,
represent more than 80 percent of all Chinese in the Americas. Among the
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DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 491
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DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 493
European countries, the United Kingdom and France had the largest Chi-
nese populations: 230,000 and 210,000 in 1982, respectively. About 80
percent of the overseas Chinese in Oceania were in Australia and New
Zealand.
In some countries and areas the overseas Chinese comprise the maj ority:
about 98 percent of the population in Hong Kong and Macao are Chinese
as are 77 percent in Singapore and 55 percent in the Christmas Islands. But
the overseas Chinese are in the minority in most parts of the world. The
overseas Chinese comprise about one third of the population of Malaysia,
but onl
y 
one percent of the population of Thailand and less than one percent
of the populations of the United States, die United Kingdom, France and
Australia. Relativel
y 
few countries and areas provide information on per-
sons who are citizens of China. Because of restrictive immigration laws,
there are very few new Chinese immigrants in some Caribbean and Latin
American countries. Also, very few overseas Chinese still retain their citi-
zenshi
p 
in Colombia, Cuba, Curacao, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Trinidad
and Tobago. All the Chinese in the Bahamas are descendants of Chinese
parents because no new Chinese have migrated there for many years
(Overseas Chinese Economy Yearbook Editorial Committee, 1982-83). Conversely,
persons who are citizens of China comprise about 70 percent of all the
overseas Chinese in Japan, 50 percent in Bolivia and 37 percent in South
Korea.
CHANGE S IN THE OVERSEAS CHINE SE POPULATION IN
RECENT DECADE S
Table 2 presents data provided by Taiwan on the numbers of overseas
Chinese in the world and in each continent for each year from 1948 to 1983.
Because Taiwan
's data do not cover all countries and areas, their estimates
of the overseas Chinese population in the world for the early 1980s were
between 24.7 million and 26.2 million, a range of values somewhat lower
than our findings of between 26.8 million and 27.5 million.
Taiwan's statistics are used here, however, as the main data source for
assessing the changes in the overseas Chinese population in recent decades
because this data set is the only systematic and comparable one available
anywhere. However, the Taiwan tabulations do not include counts for many
of the Communist and Socialist countries of Asia, Europe and Africa.
Despite the incompleteness of Taiwan
's 
longitudinal data set, Taiwan
's
hi
g
h estimate of the numbers of overseas Chinese for the early 1980s (26.2
million) is onl
y 
about 600,000 less than our low estimate (26.8 million).
The data in Table 2 indicate that the size of the overseas Chinese
population in the world grew steadily from nearly 9 million in 1948 to over
494
NUMBER OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN THE WORLD AND BY CONTINENT: 1948- 1983
Year Total Asia Americas Eurone Oceania Africa
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
19^
Source: Directorate-General 
of 
Bud
gets, 
Accounts 
^ 
Statistics Executive Yuan, 1971:869; Overseas
Chinese Affairs Commission, 1984:3.
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
TABLE 2
8721204 8379720 209039 53759 63835 1485 1
10719018—————
11093879—————
12126974—————
12536206 12228538 203866 11547 60935 31320
13330192 12988469 236379 11547 62477 31320
13472311 13124716 238363 11549 66363 31320
14126723 13745 132 266013 13794 69345 32439
14207749 13841688 251863 13814 67945 32439
14405040 14012576 277524 11418 70392 33130
14471658 14074036 277524 11418 70392 38288
14581070 14152113 300767 13762 73806 40622
15385 245 14880073 406559 15779 42172 40622
15709667 15170848 432517 20505 43172 42625
16359183 15803703 443910 20505 4817 2 42893
16897057 16315552 450543 33695 49492 47775
17428596 16849576 446173 34084 50992 47771
17563448 16981347 449733 34142 50799 47427
17736333 17098462 487529 54167 48699 47476
18118416 17421679 539413 61755 45454 50115
18298045 17572540 551570 62092 61419 50424
18800339 18007913 603186 68092 63688 57460
19293802 18342611 711207 112085 68496 59403
19833751 18882079 711280 112081 68496 61615
20234549 19237607 749552 116582 68888 61918
21063441 19999124 789898 141600 68896 63923
21466509 20385459 794599 151614 69374 65463
22025482 20758728 926411 197520 74709 68114
22588123 21139491 1074612 233620 74709 65711
23202615 21557691 1221216 279223 76409 68076
24037274 22066838 1497071 322148 77521 73696
24472917 22219569 151663 1 524448 10847 1 73798
24653484 22391369 1557671 525153 105472 74719
25583659 23201892 1612649 544146 147777 77195
26092000 23631231 1663075 550926 168456 78509
26195650 23664507 1704995 567449 178584 80115
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 495
26 million in 1983. The number of overseas Chinese in the world in 1983
was about three times the number in 1948.
Using the data in Table 2, the average annual growth rates for the world
and its continents for the full 36 year period of 1948-1 983, and for the
following five shorter periods: 1948-51, 1952-59, 1960-69, 1970-7 9, and
1980-83 have been calculated. The first time period represents the years
immediatel
y 
before and after the date (October 1, 1949) when the Commu-
nist regime assumed command of the mainland, a period during which there
was substantial Chinese emigration. Each of the next three periods covers
about the same number of years; other than not wishing to cover all 28 of
these years in a single category, there is no particular reason behind the use
of these three breaks. The final category represents the contemporary and
post-Mao period in China, and its less restrictive policies with regard 
to
emigration. These rates are shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3
AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATES OF THE OVERSEAS CHINESE FOR VARIOUS
PERIODS OF TIME BETWEEN 1948 AND 1983
Time Period Average Annual Growth Rate (Percentage
)
Year World Asia____Americas Europe 
Oceania___Africa
1948-1952 9.5 9.9 -0.6
1952- 1960 2.6 2.5 9.0
1960-1970 2.3 2.1 5.8
1970-1980 2.5 2.0 8.2
1980-1983 2.0 1.9 3.1
1948-1983 3.2 3.0 6.2
31.9 -1.2 20.5
4.0 -4.5 3.3
21.7 5.0 3.9
16.7 4.4 2.3
2.6 19.2 2.4
7.0 3.0 4.9
Source: Table 2.
Note: Average annual growth rate, r = n/Pn/Po — 1, where n is the length of period (in years)
Po is the initial population and Pn is the population at the end of the period.
In the world as a whole, the overseas Chinese grew at an annual rate over
the full period of 3.2 percent, in the Americas by 6.2 percent and in Europe
b
y 
7 percent. The population changes of the overseas Chinese, however, in
the various continents had different patterns of change over the various
periods of time. From the end of the 1940s to the early 1950s, the Chinese
population increased more rap
idl
y 
in Asia and in Africa than in the latter
decades; conversely, the Chinese population declined in the late 1940s and
in the earl
y 
1950s in the Americas, Europe and Oceania, but has increased
since the 1960s. The European Chinese population experienced the sharp-
est decline at the end of the 1940s and earl
y 
1950s (-31.9%), but then had
a very rapid increase in the 1960s (21.7%) and 1970s (16.7%). The highest
average growth rates of overseas Chinese since 1960 were 8.2 percent in
the Americas in the 1970s and 19.2 percent in Oceania in the 1980s.
496 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
TART F. 4
THE AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF OVERSEAS CHINESE FOR THE WORLD,
CONTINENTS AND 67 COUNTRIES AND AREAS: 1955- 1982
Continent and Population in 1955 Population in 1982 Average Annual
Country or Area (Po) (Pn) Growth Rate (%) (r)
WORLD 14126723
ASIA 13745132
Burma 3000
Cambodia 217928
Hong Kong 2250000
India 22000
Indonesia 2000000
Iran 4
Japan 44256
Korea (South) 17982
Laos 3175
Malaysia 2452128
Malaya 2216105
Sabah 236023
Sarawak 229154*
1
Pakistan 63
Philippines 148585
Ryukyu 785
Saudi Arabia 9000
Singapore 893004
Sri Lanka 450
Thailand 3690000
Turkey 1380
Vietnam 1000000
AMERICAS 266013
UNITED STATES
and CANADA
21 CARIBBEAN and
SOUTH AMERICAN 84208
COUNTRIES
Argentina 250
Bolivia 78
Brazil 943
Canada 32528
26092000 2.3
23631231 2.0
700000 2.5
50000
b
-5. 1
5313200
b
3.1
110000 6.1
6150000 4.2
300 17.3
54607 0.8
46192
b
3.6
lOOOO
b
4.2
3600 16.2
1036000 7.5
2400 4.2
45000 6.1
18562 II
15
2.9
3000 7.3
4800000
b
1.1
36000 12.8
700000
b
-1.3
1663075 7.0
1235843 8.1
256000 4.2
2000 8.0
2000 12.8
65000 17.0
325000 8.9
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 497
Continent and Population in 1955 Population in 1982 Average Annual
Country or Area (Po) (Pn) Growth Rate (%) (r)
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Trinidad and Tobago
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
EUROPE
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany (West)
Greece
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
TABLE 4
(Contin ued)
1018 2000 2.5
917 5600 6.9
1240 6000 6.0
23765 7000 -4.4
634 5500 8.3
917 12800 10.3
480 500 0.2
3323 13700 5.4
207 150 -1.2
630 1000 1.7
13000 20000 1.6
12000 20000 1.6
2500 800 -4. 1
2100 33000 10.7
15530 52000 4.6
3100 4000 0.9
117629 910843 7.9
126 250 2.6
2000 14000 7.5
13794 550926 14.6
30 4500 20.4
118 4000 13.9
900 2000 3.0
3300 210000 16.6
800 20000 12.7
4 200 15.6
260 3500 10.1
14 680 15.5
2017 60000 13.4
3 600
b
20.8
73 2500 14.0
43 3500 17.7
24 5000 21.9
11 3200 23.4
498 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
TABLE 4
(Continued)
Continent and Population in 1955 Population in 1982 Average Annual
Country or Area
__________
(Po)
____________
(Pn)
_______
Growth Rate (%) (r)
United Kingdom 2549 230000 18.1
OCEANIA 69345 168456 3.3
Australia 13174 122700^ 8.3
Fij i 3857 4600
b 
0.7
New Zealand 7000 20000 4.0
Western Samoa 301 llOQ
b 
4.7
AFRICA 32439 78509 3.3
Egypt 73 20 -4.7
Malagasy 5538 13600 3.4
Mauritius 16000 34100 2.8
Reunion 3800 13400 4.8
South Africa 4179 llOOQ
b 
3.5
South Rhodesia
____________
166
____________
200
____________
07
_____
Source: China Handbook E ditorial Boar d, 1955-56:514-516; Overseas Chinese Affairs Commis-
sion, 1984:3; and Overseas Chinese Economy Year Book E ditorial Committee, 1982-83:39-576.
Note: 
a 
The number of overseas Chinese population of Sarawak in 1955 is not available. The
data used in the table are ado
p
ted from 1960 census of Sarawak.
Data are in different years: the data of South Korea, Thailand , and Fij i are in 1980;
The number of Singapore is in 1983; The data of Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Vietnam,
Norway, Western Samos and South Africa are in 1983.
With these data from Taiwan, average annual population growth rates of
the Chinese population for 67 countries of the world for the period of 1955
to 1982 were calculated, and they are shown in Table 4.
The average annual growth rates of the overseas Chinese vary consider-
abl
y 
among the countries for which data are available. The overseas Chinese
have declined in a few countries (e.g., Cambodia, Vietnam, Cuba and
Nicaragua), and have experienced little change in others (e.g., Japan, El
Salvador and Fiji, with growth rates of less than one percent). Most of the
countries, however, have had hi
g
her average annual growth rates over the
period. The Chinese population of Turkey grew fro m slightly more than
1,000 persons in 1955 to 36,000 in 1982 , for an annual growth rate of 12.8
percent. Pakistan grew from less than 100 Chinese in 1955 to 3,600 in 1982,
for an annual rate of increase of 16.2 percent. In the same period, Chinese
residents of the United States increased from almost 118,000 to more than
910,000, for an average annual rate of increase of 7.9 percent. The Chinese
increased at an even more rapid pace in the United Kingdom, from about
2,500 to 230,000, for an average rate of change of 18.1 percent.
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 499
Our data also indicate that for the most part the developed countries
tended to have higher annual rates of growth of the Chinese population
than did the develo
ping 
countries. The differential patterns of change in the
developed and developing countries are consonant with the ecological
theory of migration which postulates that migrations tend to occur dis-
proportionately to areas with enhanced opportunities rather than to those
where life chances are low (Frisbie and Poston, 1975; Poston et al., 1984).
INFLUENCES OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES ON
THE DISTRIBUTION PATTERN S OF THE OVERSEAS
CHINE SE
From a strictl
y 
demographic point of view, overseas Chinese population
changes are only influenced by patterns of Chinese international migration
and overseas Chinese mortality and fertility. The Chinese, like the earth
'
s
population, have taken part in substantial international movements, includ-
ing large-scale flows caused by political and economic upheavals and
individual movements for long-term resettlement. Between 1936 and 1941,
for example, nearly three quarters of a million refugees from China entered
Hong Kong (United Nations, 1974). The change in government in China
in 1949 also resulted in a heav
y 
flow of immigrants to Hong Kong and other
countries.
As a result of the Tibetan rebellion in 1959, tens of thousands ofTibetans
migrated to India for political asylum. The Tibetan refugees have continued
their migrations to India in recent decades. Indeed, there were over 80,000
Tibetans in India in 1982-83 , accounting for 72 percent of the total overseas
Chinese in that country.
From the late 1970s to the earl
y 
1980s, millions of Asians escaped from
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam into neighboring Thailand and other coun-
tries. Among these, about 60 percent were of Chinese origin (Overseas
Chinese Economy Year Book Editorial Committee, 1982-83).
Cuba and Nicaragua experienced a decline in their overseas Chinese
populations in recent decades. Many left Cuba because of the restriction of
Chinese immigration, the limitation of the employment of Chinese Cubans
since 1929 and the change of government in 1959. The Chinese population
in Cuba decreased from more than 120,000 in the 1870s (Thomas, 1971) to
onl
y 
7,000 in 1982. Similarly, because the situation in Nicaragua in past
years has been characterized by turbulence, the Chinese population declined
from 3,000 in 1972 to 800 in 1982 (Overseas Chinese Economy Year Book
Editorial Committee, 1982-83).
The large-scale flows of Chinese migration caused by political and eco-
nomic upheavals may partl
y exp
lain wh
y 
the Chinese population has
declined in recent years in some host countries, e.g., Vietnam, Cuba and
500 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
Nicaragua, but increased in others, e.g., the United States, the Western
European countries, India and Hong Kong.
The direction and magnitude of international migration are certainly
affected b
y 
China
'
s emigration policies. Since the late 1970s, for instance, a
number of Chinese citizens have been allowed to go abroad because of
Mainland China
'
s open door policy with the outside world. According to
current government directives of Mainland China, Chinese citizens are
allowed to leave China to visit families and friends, find jobs, settle, study
or travel (Liu, 1985). Although complete data on the actual numbers of
emigrants leaving China since the late 1970s are not available, there is
evidence of increasingl
y 
greater numbers of Chinese students abroad these
days than had been the case in the mid-1970s and earlier. Renmin Ribao
(Peop le
' s Dail
y) (1985a) reported that more than 36,
000 students were sent
to 63 countries between 1978 and 1984; this is about twice the number that
had been sent abroad from 1950 to 1977. Also, there is evidence of an
increased number of marriages between Chinese citizens and foreigners. In
Guangdong Province, for example, marriages of Chinese with foreigners
averaged 10,000 per year during the period 1979 to 1984, a number five
times that for the previous five years (Renmin Ribao, 1985b). In many of
these marriages, the couples leave China and settle abroad.
The policies of the host countries have also had an impact on the numbers
of Chinese entering their countries. For example, in the late nineteenth
century, anti-Chinese immigration policies were adopted by Australia, Can-
ada, New Zealand and the United States (See, e.g., Gulick, 1940; Riggs, 1950;
Sung, 1967, 1987; Nee and Nee, 1972; Gardner et al., 1985;M. Wong, 1986;
Siu, 1987; Poston, 1988). It was not until the last part of World War II that
the situation in New Zealand began to change. In the middle of the 1960s
in the other three countries, the Chinese were finally given the same rights
as other immigrants, and Chinese exclusion in these countries ended after
a century (Shen, 1970). These four countries of Australia, Canada, New
Zealand and the United States are now the main receiving countries of
immigrants in the world (Heisel, 1982; the World Bank Rep ort, 1984). Many
Chinese migrated to Europe during World War I. During this period,
150,000 Chinese workers were hired in France, 50,000 in the United
Kingdom and 30,000 in Russia. However, many Chinese left Europe 
after
the war (Xu, 1956). In 1955, for example, only 3,300 Chinese were in France
and 2,500 in the United Kingdom (China Handbook Editorial Board, 1955-56).
Broad
y 
(1958) has written that reductions of the numbers of overseas
Chinese in Great Britain resulted from, in part, the economic difficulties in
Europe during the interwar period, as well as the est
ablishment of the Alien
Registration Act of 1919 requiring 
all aliens to be self-supporting.
Whittingham-Jones (1944) observed that some of the factors involved the
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 501
slump in the shipping trade after World War I (many of the overseas Chinese
in Britain were sailors), as well as a general concern for renovating the
"Chinatown" areas in the port cities.
An important factor in the changing global pattern of international
migration during the 1960s and earl
y 
1970s, as stated b
y 
Heisel (1982), was
the economic growth of Northern and Western Europe and the resultant
increase in the demand for labor. For the decade of the 1960s, the net
migration balance for Europe as a whole was nearly zero; but for the first
half of the 1970s, Europe as a whole had a net inflow of over 900,000
persons. The statistical evidence indicates that the Northern and Western
European countries have changed their patterns of international migration
from net emigration to net immigration. Although economic stringency in
the European industrial countries in the latter 1970s halted the increase in
their stocks of migrant workers, the changes in international migration
patterns in most of the Northern and Western European countries may still
partly explain the rapid increase of the overseas Chinese population in
Europe in recent decades.
With few exceptions, Africa, Asia and Latin America in recent decades
may be generally characterized as regions of net emigration. In Africa ,
emigration to countries outside the continent has been confined largel
y 
to
the industrial countries of Western Europe and to the oil producing states
of West Asia. Latin America, which was previously a region of net immigra-
tion from Southern Europe, has become a region of net emigration. Because
of the economic depression and the population increase of both natives and
the overseas Chinese, anti-Chinese immigration policies were intensified in
many Asian countries after World War II (Uchida, 1960). Chinese immigra-
tion is now strictl
y 
controlled b
y 
most of its Asian nei
g
hbors. Since the
change of government in China in 1949 resulted in a heavy flow of immi-
grants, free entry into Hong Kong was stopped (United Nations, 1974). Due
to hi
g
h population density and the lack of natural resources, immigration
to Japan in recent decades has been discouraged. One of the notable
characteristics of Asian international migration trends since the 1970s is that
the stock of migrant workers has tended to grow in the capital-rich, labor-
short countries of West Asia. Ling (1984) has reported that about 107,000
Chinese workers, ori
g
inall
y 
from mainland China and Taiwan, were work-
ing in West Asia in 1982.
Contact between China and her nei
g
hbors began centuries ago when
Chinese emigrants moved to other Asian countries, particularly to the
Southeast Asian countries and areas. Historically, as is the case today, most
of the overseas Chinese live in Asia, particularl
y 
in Southeast Asia.
Another demographic factor influencing distribution patterns is mortal-
ity. There is rather limited information on the mortality patterns of the
502 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
overseas Chinese. However, most studies indicate that the mortality rates of
the overseas Chinese have declined during the postwar decades not onl
y 
in
the developed countries, but also in many developing countries. These
declines to a significant degree reflect the worldwide secular decline in
mortality, as well as the improvements in the general health of the immi-
grant populations.
The situation in Hong Kong and Singapore is of particular interest
because of their very large percentages of Chinese, 98 percent and 77
percent respectively. Their crude death rates have declined from 34.3 (Hong
Kong) and 20.9 (Singapore) in 1940 to only about 5 in both countries in
1986 (United Nations, 1957 and 1961; Population Reference Bureau, 1986).
These mortality declines are fairl
y 
representative of the mortality pat-
terns for the overseas Chinese in other more developed countries. Kung
(1962) noted more than 25 years ago that the influx of immigrants, their
hi
g
her fertility and comparativel
y 
lower mortality, have been responsible
for the 
p
henomenal increase of the Chinese population.
Regarding the fertility of the overseas Chinese, research has shown that,
in the past, overseas Chinese fertility was ofte n hi
g
her than that of the native
population of most of the host countries; in recent decades, 
however, it has
been declining. With regard to the United States, for example, Rindfuss and
Sweet (1977) have shown that over the period 1955 to 1969 there was a
substantial decline in the fertility rates of every race and ethnic group, but
b
y 
the end of the period the Chinese and Japanese had the lowest rates of
all the groups, including the majority whites.
Fertility declines have also been reported in many developing countries.
The annual rate of increase of the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia from
1947 to 1960, as estimated b
y 
Purcell (1965), was 2.5 or 3 percent. Chinese
fertility is now the lowest of all groups in Malaysia. Moreover Hong Kong
and Singapore have been experiencing as rapid a decline in their fertility
as has been the case in Taiwan and in mainland China (Cho and Kobayashi,
1979).
The declines in overseas Chinese fertility are due in part to their increases
in socioeconomic attainment. In most host countries, persons of Chinese
ancestry (indeed persons of most Asian ancestries) are performing better
socioeconomically than immigrants from most other countries (Gardner et
aL, 1985; Halli, 1987; Poston, 1988), and educational improvement and
social mobility are hi
g
hl
y 
associated with fertility reduction (Kasarda et at.,
1986). The fact that overseas Chinese are numericall
y 
in the minority in
most host countries is an additional factor for consideration. "Minority group
status consciousness, associated with marginality and insecurity, (has been
shown) to affect fertility behavior . . . couples who are hi
g
hl
y 
assimilated
structurally, but are low in acculturation, will have the lowest fertility . . .
DISTRIBUTION OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD 503
These persons are the ones most likely to adopt the rationality of reducing
their fertility for the sake of social mobility" (Halli, 1987:163-164).
Finally, there is some variability in the fertility rates of the overseas
Chinese, but this variation tends to be associated with the levels of social and
economic development of the host countries. In the developing countries of
Fij i, Brunei, Jamaica and Guyana, the total fertility rates for overseas
Chinese are 4.26, 3.78, 3.42 and 3.03, respectively. Compare these with the
total fertility rates of the overseas Chinese of 1.62, 1.63, 1.92 and 2.17 in
the developed countries of United States, Japan, South Korea and New
Zealand, respectively.
CONCLUSION
This stud
y 
has examined the contemporary distribution of the overseas
Chinese in the world. The data used were mainl
y adop
ted from Taiwan
'
s
statistics, the national censuses of many countries, and the publications of
the People
'
s Republic of China.
The available data indicate that the overseas Chinese population of the
world has steadil
y 
increased in the past thirty-five years. Among the conti-
nents, Europe and the Americas had relatively high growth rates, Africa
intermediate, and both Asia and Oceania somewhat low. Individual coun-
tries also had different trends of overseas Chinese population changes for
the 1955-1982 period. The Western European countries, the United States,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and some Southwestern Asian countries
had hi
g
her average annual growth rates. Japan, El Salvador and Fij i had no
or low changes in the past thirty years and a few countries had a decline.
The overseas Chinese now live in almost all parts of the world. The
overseas Chinese are the minority in most countries, but the majority in a
few. More than 90 percent of the overseas Chinese live in Asia, especially in
the Southeast Asian countries, and over 80 percent of the overseas Chinese
who live outside Asia reside in the more developed countries. There is no
reason to believe that the distribution of the overseas Chinese in the world
as described above will change dramaticall
y 
in the near future. The Chinese
emigrants began to move to other Asian countries, particularly to the
Southeast Asian countries, thousands of years ago. Large numbers of Chi-
nese migrated from China to virtuall
y 
every countr
y 
of the world during
the nineteenth and earl
y 
twentieth centuries. The direction and magnitude
of Chinese international migration are affected by the migration policies of
the sending and receiving countries. Immigration, is now strictly limited in
many countries.
The mortality rates of the overseas Chinese have experienced declines in
recent decades in the developed countries, as well as in many developing
countries. Also, the fertility of the overseas Chinese in many host countries
504 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW
has started to decline in recent decades, but there is still some variation among
countries, especiall
y 
between developed and developing countries. Despite this
variation, overseas Chinese fertility in most countries is as low or lower than
the fertility rates of most other groups in the countries. Therefore, these
generally low fertility and mortality rates suggest that unless stringent emigra-
tion laws are implemented in China and Taiwan and, more importantly,
restrictive immigration laws are imposed in all of the host countries, the growth
patterns of the overseas Chinese in the future may well tend to be most affected
b
y 
international emigration and immigration policies.
The data indicate that the overseas Chinese population in the world today
comprise between 26 and 28 million persons, a number larger than the total
population of Canada, Colombia or Romania, and almost equal 
to twice the
total population ofAustralia or the Netherlands. The overseas Chinese have
had, and continue to have, important and significant influences in many
host countries and are not an inconsequential population. This stud
y 
has
attempted to enrich the understanding of the distribution of the overseas
Chinese. Because of a number of limitations in the available data, however,
this study should onl
y 
be seen as preliminary.
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