SHENZHEN: The government here is considering ways to make it easier for people living in the city to apply for permanent residency in an effort to optimize its population structure, an official statement said yesterday.

According to the latest government figures, Shenzhen has a population of about 14 million, but just one in seven are classed as permanent residents, or hukou holders.

"We are studying ways to increase the number of permanent residents to give more balance to the population structure," a statement from the city's development and reform bureau said yesterday.