Population Rankings of Gyeonggi Local Governments 'Fluctuate'... Total Population 13.97 Million

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

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The population rankings of the 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province are experiencing significant fluctuations.

According to the 'Partial Amendment Regulation on the Order of Cities and Counties in Gyeonggi Province' approved by the Ordinance and Regulation Deliberation Committee on the 11th, as of the end of last year, the local government with the largest total population, combining Korean nationals and registered foreigners, among the 31 cities and counties in the province was Suwon-si with 1,225,058 people.

Following were Yongin-si (1,092,294 people) and Goyang-si (1,088,153 people), both exceeding one million. Hwaseong-si rose to 4th place with 949,187 people, surpassing Seongnam-si (936,989 people). Hwaseong-si had previously overtaken Bucheon-si two years ago to reach 5th place, and with an increase of 119,000 people last year, it surpassed Seongnam-si to climb one more step to 4th place.

On the other hand, Seongnam-si, which held 3rd place until 2016, dropped to 4th place in 2017 and has now fallen one more rank to 5th place. From 6th place Bucheon-si (814,315 people) to 11th place Siheung-si (546,051 people), the mid-upper tier local governments saw no changes in their rankings.

However, the rankings of mid-tier local governments in the province fluctuated significantly.

Paju-si (507,448 people) surpassed Gimpo-si (504,107 people), Hanam-si (328,393 people) overtook Gwangmyeong-si (291,160 people), Yangju-si (250,920 people) passed Osan-si (238,418 people), and Anseong-si (200,932 people) moved ahead of Guri-si (190,210 people), each rising one rank.

The population growth in areas like Hwaseong-si and Paju-si is attributed mainly to rapid population inflow due to new town developments, large-scale housing site developments, industrial complex establishments, and improvements in transportation conditions.

A provincial official explained, "The order of cities and counties is not an official hierarchy of local governments. However, it symbolizes relative size and status, as it is used for the sequence in various official documents and protocol among basic local governments."

Meanwhile, the total population of Gyeonggi Province is 13,972,297, including 13,589,432 Korean nationals and 382,865 registered foreigners, approaching the milestone of 14 million.

The southern part of Gyeonggi has a total of 10,360,340 people, including 10,041,913 Korean nationals and 319,427 registered foreigners, while the northern part has 3,611,957 people, including 3,547,519 Korean nationals and 64,438 registered foreigners, which is about one-third of the southern population.

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