China's "floating population" exceeds 210 million

China's floating population of migrant workers reached a record 211 million in 2009 and will hit 350 million by 2050 if government policies remain unchanged, warned a report released on Saturday.

However the report, entitled "The 2010 Report on the Development of China's Floating Population," said the figure would increase at a slower rate as the number of new workers joining the migrant population falls each year to reach 3 million by 2050, down from the current 6 million people joining the migrant work force each year.

Although the number of long-distance migrants decreased in 2009 as a result of a weakened demand for labor caused by the financial crisis, the long-term overall tendency of people moving to eastern coastal areas and key traffic hubs would not change, said the report.

According to the report, more families moved to other places and chose to settle their homes there, causing more pressure on the government to reform its management and service policies for the migrant population in order to ensure their livelihood.

The report was based on a survey by the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

Source: Xinhua