---
title: "Hukou: China's Household-Registration System"
description: "Hukou is China's household-registration system linking citizens to localities and status, affecting access to public services and migration."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/hukou"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Hukou is China's household-registration system that legally ties each citizen to a registered locality and an agricultural or non-agricultural status, governing access to public services.
- When was the hukou system formally established and by what instrument?
- How does the hukou system create inequality?
- What did the 2014 reforms change?
- How can hukou be contrasted with the Indian constitutional position on migration?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Hukou is China's household-registration system that legally ties each citizen to a registered locality and an agricultural or non-agricultural status, governing access to public services.

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In 2014 China's State Council issued reform Opinions abolishing the formal agricultural/non-agricultural hukou distinction, directing small cities to open registration while Beijing and Shanghai retained points-based caps.

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