A large amount of people wait for the subway in Beijing during the rush hour. [Photo: China.com.cn]

Beijing Bureau of Statistics says that the city has seen a steady decline in the growth rate of permanent residents in the city in the past five years.

Changes in major industries, relocation of certain non-administrative functions outside the capital, rise of living and commuting costs have been cited as the main factors for the decline.

Beijing had a permanent residential population of over 21.5 million people by the end of 2014, including more than 8.1 million permanent living migrants from other cities.

The growth rate of migrants living permanently in Beijing has seen a rapid decline in recent years from 64.2% in the past three years to 43.5% in 2014.

Around 57% of permanent residents in Beijing live between the third ring road and the sixth ring road. About half of the migrants live in residential areas outside the fifth ring road in Beijing.

The report also says that the burden on the city center is gradually being transferred to the city's new development zones.

But public services like schools, hospitals and other services are still concentrated in the city center. The uneven distribution of these public resources has led to congestion and environmental issues.