Abstract: In the process of urbanization, China's population distribution shows tendency of urban agglomerations. With 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta as the research samples, we compare and analyze the characteristics of population structure changes in the three provinces and one municipality in the Yangtze River Delta during 2010-2022 using demographic statistics. The study finds that: the population continues to gather in the major cities, with 13 of the 41 cities experiencing population contraction and 10 cities with the largest population accounting for nearly 40% of the total population of the Yangtze River Delta; the Yangtze River Delta has become one of the regions with the most serious population aging and the lowest natural population growth rate in China, especially in Shanghai; the working population in the two provinces and the municipality except for Zhejiang Province is shrinking, and the Yangtze River Delta's demographic dividend is weakening; Anhui Province has the largest outflow of population, the slowest population growth, the lowest urbanization level, and the largest internal differences. In the context of negative population growth, the Yangtze River Delta needs to give full play to the self-regulation and complementary role of population in the area to promote the population in agglomeration towards equilibrium in order to tap the advantages of population development.

Key words: the Yangtze River Delta, demographic structure, population contraction, urbanization, regional economy