How the populations of national minorities of China should develop in the future is a major problem that bears on the wealth and power of the homeland and the prosperity and development of the various nationalities themselves. The population of minority nationalities in China totaled only 35.52 million in 1953 and grew to 55.8 million in 1978. The speed of population growth of the different nationalities in different historical periods is closely related to the Party's policy and socioeconomic factors. Attention must be paid to the gap between population growth and the development of the economy, culture, education, health, and medical care as well as to other practical problems existing among the national minorities: 1) a young age structure, 2) early marriage and early reproduction are a widespread practice, 3) economic development still remains at a low level, and 4) cultural and educational level and health and medical care undertakings fall short of actual needs. Due to the serious imbalance between population growth and economic development, the lives of national minority peoples in most regions are still poverty-stricken. Implementing family planning programs among national minorities involves problems of understanding as well as many practical issues. The population growth of national minorities is a vital issue that calls for immediate, extensive, and in-depth research.
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