By the end of the year, there exists 13 various kinds of performing troupes, 14 mass art centers and culture centers, 16 public libraries, and 30 museums and memorial halls citywide. Hengyang also possesses 4 protection projects of national intangible cultural heritage, and 13 on provincial level. Currently, 3 projects, the paper-making technology invented by Cai Lun in Leiyang, the bamboo carving of Shishi town in Hengyang county, and the long drum (a percussion instrument made of bamboo, used to accompany the chanting of folk tales) in Qidong county, has joined the competition  to apply for the protection projects of the fourth batch of national intangible culture heritage, and has passed the provincial approving while is still being under check for the national approval.
 
   There are 9 broadcasting stations, 38 broadcast transmitting stations and rebroadcast stations of both medium and short waves, with the comprehensive population coverage rate of broadcasting being 96.8%, 8 television stations, 1 education station with the comprehensive population coverage rate of TV being 99.3%, and 0.7273 million users of cable TV with the growth rate being 84.6% in the city. There are also 5 different kinds of newspapers published, 7 kinds of periodicals with a circulation of 0.81 million volumes, and the income and a total profit of the press and publishing industry respectively reaching 1.666 billion and 200.1 million yuan. And at the end of the year, there are 14 archives citywide, and 1.2157 million volumes of various kinds of archives has already been made public.
 

I. Population of the city, counties and municipal districts

  According to the decision of the State Council, China launched its seventh national census at 0:00 on November 1st, 2020, which would be carried out on the basis of the Statistics Law of the People’s Republic of China and Regulations on National Census. Under the strong leadership of the municipal Party committee and the municipal government, Hengyang has successfully completed the on-site registration of the census and the collection of main census data, owed to the support and cooperation of all census objects and painstaking efforts of census institutions at all levels and their staffs. Now the main data of the whole city, counties and municipal districts are published as follows: 

1. Resident population

  The resident population of Hengyang is 6,645,243, a decrease of 7.04% compared with the sixth national census in 2010. Among them, 3,606,453 people live in towns, accounting for 54.27%; 3,038,790 people live in rural areas, accounting for 45.73%. Compared with the sixth national census in 2010, the urban population has increased by 425,589, while the rural population has decreased by 928,690. The proportion of urban population has risen by 9.77%. 

2. Household population

  There are 2,299,417 family households (6,141,625 people included), and 86952 collective ones (503,618 people included) in Hengyang. On average the population per household is 2.67, a decrease of 0.81 over the sixth census in 2010. 

3. Population of counties and municipal districts

  Among the 12 counties and municipal districts, Leiyang city has the population of more than 1 million. There are five counties and municipal districts with 500 thousand to 1 million people: Hengyang County, Hengnan County, Changning County, Qidong County and Hengdong County. And there are three counties and municipal districts with 300 thousand to 500 thousand people, namely Zhengxiang District, Zhuhui District and Hengshan County; Nanyue District has the population of less than 100 thousand.  

II.Gender composition of population

1.Gender composition of population of Hengyang

  Among the president population of Hengyang, the male population is 3,427,248, accounting for 51.57%; the female population is 3,217,995, accounting for 48.43%. The sex ratio of the total population is 106.5 (106.5 males to 100 females), down 1.26 from the sixth census in 2010.

2.Gender composition of population of counties and municipal districts

There are 5 counties and municipal districts of which the sex ratio of permanent residents is below 104, 2 between 104 to 106, and 5 above 106.

III.Age composition of population

1.Age composition of population of Hengyang

  Among the resident population of Hengyang, the population aged 0-14 is 1,395,771, accounting for 21.00%; the population aged 15-59 is 3,907,599, accounting for 58.80%; the population aged 60 and above is 1,341,873, accounting for 20.19%, among which the population aged 65 and above is 979,181, accounting for 14.74%. Compared with the sixth census in 2010, the proportion of the population aged 0-14 has increased by 0.57%, while that of the population aged 15-59 has decreased by 7.30%. The proportion of the population aged 60 and above has increased by 6.72%, and that of the population aged 65 and over has increased by 5.82%. 

2.Age composition of population of counties and municipal districts

  In terms of counties and municipal districts, there are 2 of which the proportion of the population aged 15-59 is above 65%, 3 of which the proportion is between 60% and 65%, and 7 of which the proportion is between 50% and 60%. 

IV.Educational attainment of population

1.Educated population

  Among the resident population of Hengyang, 592,707 people receive higher education (colleges or above); 1,075,341 people receive high school education (including technical secondary schools); 2,590,421 people receive junior high school education; 1,765,905 people receive primary school education (people with various education levels above include graduates, undergraduates and students at school). Compared with the sixth census in 2010, among every 100,000 people, the number of those with higher education has increased from 5963 to 8919; the number of those with high school education has increased from 13006 to 16182; the number of those with junior high school education has decreased from 42072 to 38982, and the number of those with primary school education has decreased from 27340 to 26574.  

2.Average schooling years

  Compared with the sixth census in 2010, among the resident population of Hengyang, the average schooling years of the population aged 15 and over have increased from 8.94 years to 9.46 years.

There are 5 counties and municipal districts where the average schooling years of the population are more than 10 years, and 7 where the average schooling years are between 8 and 10 years.  

3.Illiterate population

Among the resident population of Hengyang, the illiterate population (illiterate people aged 15 and above) is 136,729, which has decreased by 65520 compared with the sixth census in 2010, and the illiteracy rate has decreased from 2.83% to 2.06%, a decrease of 0.77%.

Hengyang is a region where ethnic minorities are scattered and sparsely distributed, with Tashan Yao Ethnic Township in Changning being the only ethnic township in the city. The main focus of Hengyang’s ethnic affairs lies in the Tashan Yao Ethnic Township and the Hui people residing in urban areas, with priorities placed on work related to ethnic townships and urban minority communities. There are currently 42 ethnic minorities in the city, with a population of 17800, accounting for 0.25% of the total population. The Yao ethnic group, which constitutes a significant portion of the minority population, is mainly concentrated in Tashan Yao Ethnic Township, Changning. The Hui people are relatively concentrated in the area between the railway station and Feijiping in Zhuhui District. The central theme of ethnic affairs is: striving in unity for common prosperity and development. The city’s ethnic affairs are divided into two major tasks: first, rural ethnic affairs, Mainly to develop the economy of Tashan Yao Ethnic Township in Changning. Second, urban ethnic affairs, primarily involving the mediation of ethnic conflicts in urban areas. In recent years, ethnic minorities coming to Hengyang mainly originate from Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Aba in Sichuan. Currently, there are over 50 Hui-owned halal noodle restaurants operating in the city, some selling lamb skewers and raisins, while others sell ethnic medicinal herbs and handicrafts through street stalls. Therefore, strengthening services and management for ethnic minorities migrating to Hengyang is becoming increasingly important for promoting ethnic unity and social harmony.

According to the unified regional GDP accounting results, Hengyang achieved a regional GDP of 419.087 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 5.3% over the previous year, 0.7 percentage points higher than the provincial average. Of this, the added value of the primary industry was 46.15 billion yuan (up 3.1%), the secondary industry 138.579 billion yuan (up 7.1%), and the tertiary industry 234.357 billion yuan (up 4.6%). The per capita regional GDP, calculated based on permanent population, was 64,108 yuan, an increase of 6.3%.

The industrial structure was 11.0:33.1:55.9 (primary:secondary:tertiary). The contributions to economic growth from the three industries were 7.3%, 44.7%, and 48.0%, respectively.

By the end of 2023, the city’s permanent population was 6.497 million, with an urban population of 3.7036 million and an urbanization rate of 57.00%, up 1.22 percentage points from the previous year.

Throughout the year, 5.466 million people were covered by basic medical insurance (urban and rural), with 796,500 covered by employee medical insurance, including 23,800 retired employees. The coverage rate for urban and rural residents’ medical insurance reached 95.82%. A total of 3.3909 million people were enrolled in the basic pension insurance system for urban and rural residents. 675,100 workers were covered by unemployment insurance, with 2,800 receiving unemployment benefits. 616,900 workers were covered by work-related injury insurance.

Urban and rural minimum living guarantees benefited 29,300 urban and 147,300 rural residents, with 159 million yuan and 480 million yuan allocated respectively. The city had 27,248 beds in various social welfare institutions, accommodating 8,766 people.

Sales of welfare lottery tickets through out the year reached 588 million yuan, raising 67 million yuan in social welfare funds.

In 2023, the per capita disposable income of residents was 36,685 yuan, up 5.7% from the previous year. By place of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 45,864 yuan (up 4.5%), while that of rural residents was 26,903 yuan (up 6.7%). Among urban residents, income sources included: wage income (28,508 yuan), net business income (4,900 yuan), net transfer income (8,386 yuan), and net property income (4,069 yuan). For rural residents, income sources included: wage income (13,675 yuan), net business income (5,918 yuan), net transfer income (6,925 yuan), and net property income (385 yuan).

The annual per capita consumption expenditure was 27,888 yuan, up 5.3% from the previous year. Urban residents spent 32,076 yuan on average, including 9,673 yuan on food, tobacco, and alcohol; 5,619 yuan on housing; 2,161 yuan on medical care; and 5,442 yuan on education, culture, and entertainment. Rural residents spent 23,423 yuan on average, including 7,220 yuan on food, tobacco, and alcohol; 5,198 yuan on housing; and 1,494 yuan on medical care.

The city created 63,800 new urban jobs, helped 42,800 unemployed individuals find jobs, and provided employment assistance to 8,220 people with difficulties. A total of 51,700 people received subsidized vocational training, including 14,400 in entrepreneurship training. The city issued 402 entrepreneurship guarantee loans amounting to 360 million yuan, supporting or stabilizing employment for 6,081 people.

Environmental quality has gradually improved. 

The overall environmental quality remains stable, and the number of days when air quality level is 2 or above 2 is accounted for 365 days. The average annual precipitation is 897.5 mm, and the overall water quality that meet the Ⅲ, Ⅳ, Ⅴ, Hyper-Ⅴ-class standard section ratio are 61.1%, 5.6%, 16.7% and 16.7% respectively. The rate of qualified drinking water is 100%, and the executive rate of the qualified environmental protection in industrial projects is also 100%. What’s more, Hengyang has completed 25 projects which aim at reducing main pollutant’s emission, closed 77 projects because of structure and eliminated 74 projects this year. In the meantime, obvious improvements have been made in the atmosphere, water, industry and urban environment by eliminating pollution. Safety management in the concrete wastes and radiation controlling has also strengthened.

The strength in integrative development of mineral resources has increased. Throughout the year, 66 kinds of mineral resources have already been discovered, of which the reserve of 53 kinds mineral resources have already been proved, including 4 kinds of energy mineral, 25 kinds of metal mineral, 23 kinds of nonmetallic mineral 1 mineral water. During the year, 100 geological exploration projects have been completed, increasing by 14%; 8 projects on prospecting resources in the mining area, increasing by 25%, and 0.70 million tons raw coal resource has been newly discovered, increasing by 53%.

The city`s comprehensive carrying capacity has enhanced significantly. 

In this year, Zhengyang North Road extension project, the Zhuhui water plant, scenery belt across the north and the south of Zheng River, North Part of Changfeng Avenue, North Part of Huaxin Avenue, the first period of Shitang road project, East Chuanshan Avenue and other eight projects have been started one by one. Lingbai Road, four bridges on Hengzhou Avenue, and the connected line of  Heng-Zao Express have almost completed; and Zhengyang North Road extension project, West Heng Expressway, Hengda Expressway, the Zhuhui Ecological Park, Dongzhou Island Park, West Tan-Heng Road extension, Yumu Mountain Ecological Park, Hejiang Bus Terminal have been fully started.

Hengyang has built the second living garbage dump. 

In addition to other dumps--Changning, Hengyang, Qidong, Nanyue, and Hengshan dump, Hengyang has eight dumps in total. The harmless rate of city living garbage disposal is 100%. And the construction of Zhaoyang gas station has basically completed, and daily supply capacity of the station is 8000 cubic meters, which can meet  the demands of 80 buses. The preliminary work of effluent treatment plant and sludge disposal center in Laizi Stone has been launched; the construction of city sewage pipe network has extended 20.8 km this year, the totality reaching a total of 464.87 km, which help protect the water quality of Xiangjiang River. 268,000 square meters of green areas has been constructed, and the per capita public green area is 9.48 square meters. What’s more, the ratio of urban green space and green coverage rate increases by 36.5% and 39.2% respectively. While the plan-- “Better City in Three Years ” has made significant progress,  the quality of the expansion of new-type towns and villages has also improved and urban and rural areas has upgraded remarkably, as a result the urbanization rate ups to 47.0%.

The security situation in production is severe. 

Throughout the year, there are 1289 accidents in production in total, increasing by 19.4%; 932 road traffic accidents occurred, decreasing by 2.3%; the accident mortality rate of 100 million RMB worth of GDP is 0.16, decreasing by 0.01%; the production safety accident mortality rate of 100,000 employees in industrial, mining and commercial enterprises is 4.22, rising by 2.08%; the road traffic accident mortality rate of 10,000 cars is 3.01, decreasing by 0.79%; and the accident mortality rate of one million tons of coal is 4.79, increasing by 3.52%.

Health career has made progress gradually. 

Hengyang has 4617 various health institutions, including 256 hospitals or health centers and 13 maternal and child care service center or station. There are 3.74 million workers working in the health care field, of which 1.8 million are practiced doctors and assistant doctors and 0.86 million are registered nurses. Hospitals can provide 23,800 beds for patients. What’s more, 198 township hospitals are equipped with 6962 beds and 10,237 health staffs, and there are also 7 new constructed or renovated township hospitals. Throughout the year, 5.4 million farmers have participated in the new rural cooperative medical system, generating a participation rate of 99.2% and 1.055 billion Yuan’s subsidy funds. Reform of the medical and health system has orderly progressed; health care in basic level has made much progress; and the health emergency and prevention and control of major infectious disease has also achieved remarkable results.

There are 5,759 different kinds of medical institutions citywide, among which 273 are hospitals and public health centers, and 13 are maternal and child health institutes and centers. They are equipped with 31,100 medical staffs, among which 13,400 people are licensed doctors and licensed assistant doctors and 10,600 are registered nurses, and 27,500 hospital beds as well. Hengyang also has got 202 public health centers in towns and villages with 8,464 hospital beds, 9,684 medical staffs, and 21 rural public health centers newly built and reconstructed. 5,661,900 people have enjoyed rural cooperative medical service, with a participation rate of 99.7% which is at the forefront within Hunan province.