Guangzhou is the most populous city in Guangdong Province, home to 12.7 million permanent residents, followed by Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, and Zhanjiang.

The sixth national census indicates that Guangdong is China's most populous province with a population of 104.3 million, an increase of 17.88 million or 20.69 percent over the past decade. According to Xing Xiaowei, deputy director of the leadership group of Guangdong's sixth national census and director of Guangdong Provincial Office of Statistics, Guangdong's rapid population growth can be largely attributed to two factors – Guangdong has a large base population and its roaring economy has attracted a large number of migrant workers from elsewhere. Guangdong ranks sixth nationwide in terms of per capita GDP, after Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu.

Also according to Mr. Xing, Guangdong is currently in a period of "demographic dividends". Peng Peng, a researcher at the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, predicts that the number of migrant workers to Guangzhou will rapidly decline in the next ten years, thereby reducing the "demographic dividends".