A report published by the Guangzhou Development Research Institute of Guangzhou University has confirmed something that the city’s subway commuters may have figured out already – Guangzhou has exceeded its population capacity.

According to the “2013 Guangzhou Economic Analysis and Forecast,” considering its size and what it needs to function as a city, the ideal population from the point-of-view of the pursuit of per capita GDP is 8.07 million. The ideal population from the point-of-view of the pursuit of social development is 12.75 million. However, the population had already reached 13.55 million by the end of 2011, Yangcheng Evening News reported last week.

This over-population is causing problems such as resource shortages, pollution, and traffic congestion that could cause the city’s development to bottleneck.

The report then sets out three rather vague ways of tackling the problem: make adjustments to the city’s industrial structure; improve people’s livelihoods, and improve the calibre of workers migrating to the city.

Also, Guangzhou’s service sector needs to be increased as a percentage of the economy, according to the report. The 2011 figure of 65% is below the international average of 70.9% and way below that of more advanced cities such as Hong Kong at 92.6% in 2010 when this was last measured.