Most of urban population are located in the great plain and basin, and a larger proportion of the agricultural population lives in the same areas also. There are 45 minority nationalities in the province, all of them small in size. Population History Shanxi s population has developed very rapidly since the 1950s. In 1990, the sex ratio of Shanxi was 108.51, still higher than the national average. The distribution of the sex ratio is uneven geographically, with higher ratios in the north and lower in the south, decreasing gradually.
Sex ratios are higher in cities and towns, higher in industrial and mining areas.
The fertility level in Shanxi is in the upper middle level nationwide. It has varied in a saddle shape in the 1980s. There appeared to be an earlier marriage and fertility peak-value, decreased high parity birth proportion, and increased second parity births. In 1997, the birth rate of Shanxi was 16.18 per 1,000, natural increase rate 10.12 per 1,000. Mortality and Life Expectancy Mortality decreased sharply since the establishment of the new China, but the process was not smooth.