BEIJING, June 20 (UPI) -- New numbers released Wednesday by Beijing's municipal bureau show the city's population has exceeded 21 million, making the it nearly the size of Australia's populace.
The population had reported growth of 455,000 permanent residents between 2012 and 2013. That is more than the population of Atlanta, Ga., which has 447,841 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Shanghai Statistics Bureau released numbers in February that showed a permanent resident and migrant population of 24.15 million -- roughly the population of North Korea.
The two cities' populations combined equal more than the entire population of Canada.
The population statistics were based on a survey of migrant workers and people who held permanent-resident papers, entitling them to education and health care.
