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

The autonomous regions (Chinese: 自治区; pinyin: Zìzhìqū) are one of four types of province-level divisions of China. Like Chinese 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." 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 bitterly 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

Statistics

Population

Ethnic

See also

• 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 km (91,700 sq mi)
   Inner Mongolia – 1,183,000 km (457,000 sq mi)
   Ningxia – 66,400 km (25,600 sq mi)
   Xinjiang – 1,665,000 km (643,000 sq mi)
   Tibet – 1,228,000 km (474,000 sq mi)

References

1. "Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities in China (2005)". english1.english.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
2. Dreyer, June Teufel (1997). "Assimilation and Accommodation in China". In Brown, Michael Edward; Ganguly, Šumit (eds.). Government Policies and Ethnic Relations in Asia and the Pacific. MIT Press. p. 365.
3. "First Union Constitution". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. 2015-08-27. Archived from the original on 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2021-07-07. ARTICLE 4. Each one of the member Republics retains the right to freely withdraw from the union.
4. "中华人民共和国民族区域自治法 – Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy". www.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2005-12-10. Retrieved 2021-07-07. 各民族自治地方都是中华人民共和国不可分离的部分 – Each and every ethnic autonomous region is an inseparable part of the People's Republic of China.
5. Zhu, Yuchao; Blachford, Dongyan (2006-08-31). "China's Fate as a Multinational State: a preliminary assessment". Journal of Contemporary China. 15 (47): 329–348. doi:10.1080/10670560500535043. ISSN 1067-0564. S2CID 154008693. Based on China's Constitution, any sub-national unit, either a province or an ethnic minority autonomous region, does not legally have the right to secede from China.
6. ^ Lin, Shuanglin (2022). China's Public Finance: Reforms, Challenges, and Options. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-09902-8.
7. "Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 3)". stats.gov.cn. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
8. "Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census". National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2013-07-27.
9. 现将2000年第五次全国人口普查快速汇总的人口地区分布数据公布如下. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-08-29.
10. 中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九九〇年人口普查主要数据的公报. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-06-19.
11. 中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九八二年人口普查主要数字的公报. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10.
12. 第二次全国人口普查结果的几项主要统计数字. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14.
13. 中华人民共和国国家统计局关于第一次全国人口调查登记结果的公报. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05.

External links

• Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities in China

v t e Provincial-level divisions of China
Provinces	Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang
Autonomous regions	Guangxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Tibet Xinjiang
Direct-administered municipalities	Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin
Special administrative regions	Hong Kong Macau
Disputed province	Taiwan
Taiwan is claimed by the People's Republic of China but administered by the Republic of China (see political status of Taiwan).

• Autonomous regions of China
• Autonomous administrative divisions of China
• Province-level divisions of China