For the first time in its history Guangdong, an economic powerhouse in South China, became the province with the country's largest population, reaching 94.49 million registered long-term residents in 2007, according to statistics released by the provincial Development and Reform Commission on December 28th.

The surge resulted from the rapid increase of incoming migrants and the arrival of a fourth baby boom ahead of expectations.

Birthrates in 2006 and 2007 registered increases of about 18,300 and 30,400 respectively over the previous year in Guangdong, while the annual natural population growth rate (ANPGR) went up from the 7.02% in 2005 to 7.3 % in 2007, according to Li Miaojuan, director general of the commission.

The ANPGR will reach even higher this year, up to 8%, Li predicted.

In the years leading up to 2010 this annual snowballing is expected to continue, with the births expected to be 1.28 million in that year.

Guangzhou under pressure

Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, had almost 12 million registered residents and temporary migrant inhabitants in December of 2007, according to an economic report recently released by the Guangzhou Academy of Social Science.

The city's maximum population capacity is 15 million.

Additionally, the birthrate of migrants here continues to grow, putting more and more pressure on the city's public welfare resources.