BEIJING - China's population is projected to reach 1.4 billion by the end of 2015, when the urban population will become the majority for the first time, officials said.

Li Bin, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said the population on the mainland will reach 1.39 billion by the end of 2015, among which as many as 700 million people will be living in urban areas.

It will be the first time that the urban population exceeds the rural population in the country, she said.