By the end of 2002, Hubei had a population of about 59.878 million. There are more people living in the east of the province than in the west.

Life expectancy

The average life expectancy of urban residents is 75.68 years (73.72 years for men and 77.79 years for women); and that of rural residents is 71.25 years (69.23 for male residents and 73.42 for female residents).

Ethnicity

Hubei is a province where many ethnic groups live in compact communities. It now has 50 ethnic groups, including the Han, Tujia, Miao, Hui, Dong, Manchu, Zhuang and Mongolian. According to the fifth national census, the ethnic minority groups, with nearly 2.58 million people, comprise 4.34 percent of the province's total population. Minority ethnic groups with over 10,000 people include the Tujia, Miao, Hui, Dong and Manchu. With 1.8 million people, Tujia is the largest ethnic minority group in Hubei, comprising 80 percent of the total ethnic minority population in the province. The second largest, the Miao, constitutes 10.3 percent. The areas where ethnic minority groups live in compact communities cover more than 30,000 square kilometers, forming one-sixth of the province's total area. Ethnic minority groups are mainly distributed in southwestern Hubei.

The fifth population census shows that of every 100,000 people in Hubei, 3,898 have had university education; 12,595 have received senior secondary education; 34,311 have received junior secondary education; and 35,416 have had primary education only. The illiterate rate stands at 7.15 percent.