While exact, current figures vary, recent data from 2025 suggests around 100,000 to 150,000 foreigners live in Shenzhen, a significant number working in its booming tech and commerce sectors, alongside many more temporary visitors, with older data citing 22,000 permanent residents and over a million temporary stays annually, showing a growing international presence.
Huge amounts of money have been invested in Shenzhen in the last two decades and the end result is a modern, attractive city that is one of the best to live in throughout the whole of the east, not just China. A largely expat community called Shekou is home to a lot of foreigners who move to Shenzhen.
Expats in Shenzhen enjoy a high quality of life, with affordable living costs, efficient public transportation, diverse leisure options, and excellent healthcare.
Located in Guangdong Province and adjacent to Hong Kong, Shenzhen is known as a receiving city for migrants. According to the Statistics Bureau of Shenzhen (2019), there are 8.49 million migrants in the city, accounting for 63% of the total population of 13.44 million.
The male to female ratio in Shenzhen is 130 to 100, making the city having the highest sex disparity in comparison to other cities in Guangdong.
In China, the situation is even more pressing. Its one-child policy left it with over 30 million more men than women. These men confront a smaller dating pool, and it's even harder for working-class and rural men to find a partner.
Shenzhen's Muslim community—now estimated at over 150 000—has flourished in lockstep with a city that has morphed, in barely four decades, from a coastal fishing village to a tech-driven metropolis.
With 50.800 millionaires and 22 billionaires, Shenzhen is transforming technological innovation and strategic economic policies into a global model of prosperity, surpassing traditional financial giants.
Yes, China has one of the world's highest homeownership rates, often cited as around 90% or even higher (87% urban, 96% rural), driven by post-1998 housing reforms that privatized public housing and strong cultural emphasis on property as stability and a prerequisite for marriage. However, this figure can be misleading; it primarily counts those with urban household registration (hukou), often excluding many migrant workers, and while ownership is high, many face significant mortgage burdens, and the land itself remains state-owned.
Because of Shenzhen's close proximity to Hong Kong and Guangzhou, you will also hear the Cantonese language spoken. Many people in Shenzhen can also speak at least some English, with the Shenzhen Government offering programs to help people learn English.
China's "3-hour rule" for minors restricts children under 18 to playing online video games for only three hours per week, specifically from 8 PM to 9 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, to combat gaming addiction and improve health. Implemented by the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) in 2021, the rule mandates gaming companies use real-name verification and facial recognition to enforce limits, though some children bypass it using adult accounts.
This report estimates a living wage for Shenzhen, P. R. China. Our estimate of a living wage for a full-time worker in Shenzhen, China, for November 2024 is 4,401 CNY (615 USD) per month. The net living wage (i.e., take-home pay after taxes and other mandatory payroll deductions) is 4,005 CNY (559 USD) per month.
The "Three Ts" in China refer to the highly sensitive topics of Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen Square, which are major taboos and subjects of strict censorship, with discussions often discouraged or forbidden due to their challenge to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) narrative and authority. Foreigners are often advised to avoid these topics to prevent discomfort, legal issues, or awkwardness with Chinese citizens.
Areas to avoid in Shenzhen
Areas like the Bao'an district offer affordable housing but lack access to recreational activities and can feel more industrial and rural. Dameisha offers a beautiful beach environment but is far from the city centre, which makes for an unpleasantly long commute.
China's "0.1% rule" refers to its 2025 export controls that require licenses for products containing 0.1% or more (by value) of certain Chinese-origin rare earth elements or technologies, extending China's regulatory reach globally to materials like magnets, semiconductors, and defense components, even if manufactured outside China. This extraterritorial control, similar to the U.S. Foreign Direct Product Rule, aims to leverage China's dominance in rare earth supply chains for strategic influence, impacting high-tech industries by requiring approval for exports and potentially disrupting global supply chains.
The current average monthly salary in China is $3000-$4000 US dollars.
A society where problems are hidden rather than solved can appear “orderly,” but that order is often achieved through coercion and silence, not care and dignity. Homelessness exists, but it is made largely invisible through a mix of short-term containment, forced removal, and strict control over reporting.
Average Home Prices in the US vs. China. As of August 2024, prices for new homes across 100 cities in China averaged 16,461 RMB per square meter, or about $2,318.50. In the United States, the average price per square foot is around $233, according to May 2024 data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St.
It really depends on what you're going to do with that $100. If you're living a western style of life with food, $100 US in the cities would be like $120 US maybe? It'll stretch out a little. But if you're eating like the locals, buying groceries and the like, this can be a small fortune.
Shenzhen ranked No 4 globally last year among major cities worldwide, with an average property price of US$783,855 (HK$6.1 million) or US$783 per square foot, according to CBRE.
Number of rich households or individuals in mainland China based on properties as of January 2024, by standard. Millionaires are defined as individuals with personal wealth of over 10 million yuan, and super-rich are defined as individuals with personal wealth of 100 million yuan or above.
Australia ranks twice on the top 50 list, with Sydney in 17th place and Melbourne in 30th place worldwide. Sydney is currently home to 205 centi-millionaires while Melbourne has 112.
Is China friendly for Muslim travellers? Yes, China has a long-standing Muslim heritage, particularly in provinces like Yunnan, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. Cities such as Xi'an, Kunming, and Beijing offer halal food, historic mosques, and accommodations that are increasingly aware of Muslim travellers' needs.
Average age of 32.5: The youngest city in China
Since the Reform and Opening-up in 1979, Shenzhen's permanent population has increased by 40 times over the past 40 years, rising from 314,000 in 1979 to 17,662,000 in 2022, which is a clear indication of Shenzhen's attraction to talents.
Protestantism grew rapidly in rural China in the 1980s and rapidly in urban China in the 1990s.