Topic 48 Floating Population

　　Floating population draws more attention nowadays. According to the chart, Guangdong province is of the largest floating population among these provincial regions. Tianjin, Jiangxi, and Chongqing have a relatively small quantity.

　　What causes the difference? The reasons may be various. Firstly, the economic factor plays a dominating role. From this chart, Guangdong, a leading region economically among all these, is of a floating population larger than the sum of Tianjin, Jiangxi, and Chongqing's. To be more specific, compared with the other provincial regions, Guangdong is a place of manufacture, which, to a high degree, is labor-intensive. In addition, it might be related to the geographic features and land area of a certain region, which affect traffic possibility and labor demand volume. Guangdong is a case in point again, since it has better transportation situation and is bigger geographically compared to the rest regions here in the graph.

　　Whatever the reason, the floating has caused many a new issue, not only to floating individuals, but to the source and target regions: How to keep the family life normal and stable? How to take care of the “left-behind children”? How to protect the rights of the rural laborers now in urban areas? How to settle the swelling population in cities? These have become a social issue asking for urgent solution.