Autonomous regions of China

In the People's Republic of China, an autonomous region () is a provincial-level administrative division and province equivalent. 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." 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.

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. 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.

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."

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. 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.

List of autonomous regions Name in English Map Simplified ChinesePinyin Abbreviation Local nameSASM/GNC romanization (Language) Capital Designatedminority Language Pre-1949 ROC subdivision Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) (Mongolian) Hohhot() Mongol Mongolian Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei, Xing'an, Gansu, and Ningxia Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) (Standard Zhuang/Zhuang) Nanning(; ) Zhuang Zhuang, Standard Zhuang (Vahcuengh) Guangxi (province) Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Standard Tibetan) Lhasa(; ) Tibetan Standard Tibetan Tibet Area, Xikang Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR) Yinchuan() Hui Dungan, Chinese Ningxia (province) Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) (Uyghur) Ürümqi(; ) Uyghur Uyghur Xinjiang (province)

Statistics

Population Administrative Division National Share (%) 2020 Census 2010 Census 2000 Census 1990 Census 1982 Census 1964 Census 1954 CensusGuangxi 3.55 50,126,804 46,026,629 43,854,538 42,245,765 36,420,960 20,845,017 19,560,822Inner Mongolia 1.70 24,049,155 24,706,321 23,323,347 21,456,798 19,274,279 12,348,638 6,100,104Ningxia 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 1,273,969Xinjiang 1.83 25,852,345 21,813,334 18,459,511 15,155,778 13,081,681 7,270,067 4,873,608Total7.85110,879,058101,725,35093,740,11885,709,80274,561,89141,714,94731,808,503

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%

Autonomous regions of China

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