East China's Zhejiang province recorded a net inflow of 454,000 people in 2024, the highest in the country, according to data recently released by the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics.

By the end of 2024, the province's permanent population reached 66.7 million, an increase of 430,000, second only to Guangdong province among all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the Chinese mainland.

Population growth is fundamentally driven by industry, said Zhang Xiangjing, a professor at Hangzhou Normal University's School of Public Administration, who has long studied Zhejiang's demographic trends.

She added that Zhejiang's strong net inflow of talent reflects its economic resilience and growing appeal to talent.

In 2024, the province's GDP reached 9.01 trillion yuan (about $1.24 trillion), ranking fourth in China, with 5.5 percent year-on-year growth, exceeding the national average of 5.0 percent and outpacing other economic hubs like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong.

Meanwhile, the province's urban unemployment rate averaged 4.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous year.