This article examines the distribution of the overseas Chinese in the contemporary world. Data are analyzed on the numbers of overseas Chinese in six continents and in more than 130 countries and areas from the end of the 1940s to the early 1980s. In the circa 1980 period, there were between 26.8 million and 27.5 million overseas Chinese. Also, the data indicate that the overseas Chinese population has steadily increased in recent decades. The overseas Chinese now live in almost all parts of the world. Although their distribution is widespread, it is uneven. Changes in the magnitude of the overseas Chinese population are affected by Chinese international migration patterns and by overseas Chinese mortality and fertility. These demographic processes are discussed in the context of overseas Chinese migration.
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