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This is a study of the what, how and why of qualitative changes in China’s population in recent decades. Following an empirical analysis of the extent of the change, the author looks specifically at the role of education in this process. A theoretical model is proposed that purports to represent the ways in which access to and quality of formal education determine, among other factors, the general caliber of citizens. On the basis of estimates for the size of this “educational dividend”, the author urges policy-makers to take advantage of it in order to sustain qualitative improvement of China’s population over the long run.