Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1950 | 167,000 | — |
| 1960 | 250,000 | +49.7% |
| 1970 | 374,000 | +49.6% |
| 1980 | 499,000 | +33.4% |
| 1990 | 636,000 | +27.5% |
| 2000 | 810,000 | +27.4% |
| 2007 | 961,000 | +18.6% |
| 2010 | 1,034,000 | +7.6% |
| 2020 | 1,308,000 | +26.5% |
| 2025 | 1,446,000 | +10.6% |
A 2007 estimate by the UN puts Mandalay's population at nearly 1 million. The city's population is projected to reach nearly 1.5 million by 2025. While Mandalay has traditionally been the bastion of Bamar (Burman) culture and populace, the massive influx of ethnic Chinese in the last 20 years has effectively pushed the Bamar out of the city center.The foreign-born Chinese can easily obtain Burmese citizenship cards on the black market. Ludu Daw Amar of Mandalay, the revered writer and journalist who died in April 2008, had said it felt like "an undeclared colony of Yunnan". Today, the percentage of Chinese, estimated at 30% to 40% of the city (with the Yunnanese forming an estimated 20% of Mandalay's population), is believed to nearly rival that of the Bamar. A sizable community of South Asians also resides in Mandalay.
Burmese is still the principal language of the city although Mandarin Chinese is increasingly heard in the city's commerce centers such as Chinatown and Zegyo Market. English is a distant third language, spoken only by the urban elite.
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