BEIJING - The demographic development of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region bears witness to the region's social progress and marks the success of a unified multiethnic country in ensuring the healthy population growth of its ethnic minorities, said a white paper on Sunday.

Over the past 70 years, Xinjiang has seen rapid and steady population growth, improving population quality, higher life expectancy, and faster urbanization and modernization, according to the white paper titled "Xinjiang Population Dynamics and Data," issued by the State Council Information Office.