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Wednesday 17 June 2009
China’s urban population surges to 607 million
China’s urban population has surged to 607 million, almost level with the rural population, said the latest report released by a central government think-tank.
BEIJING: China’s urban population has surged to 607 million, almost level with the rural population, said the latest report released by a central government think-tank.
Urbanisation has not, however, narrowed urban-rural income gaps in the world’s most populous nation of 1.3 billion people, according to the Blue Book of Cities in China, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Monday.
The urban-rural income ratio averaged about 5 last year, compared to the ratio of 2.79 in 2000, said Professor Wei Houkai, co- editor-in-chief of the Blue Book.
Farmers’ incomes have hit an annual average of 4,761 yuan (S$1,060) - about the same level as that of urban residents in the late 1990s.
The urban population had increased by 148 million since 2000, said Dr Shan Jingjing, a vice-editor-in-chief of the Blue Book. China had an urbanisation rate of 45.7 per cent at the end of last year, he added.
In the early 1980s, the rural population accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the population.
The urban surge reflected economic growth and labour migration, including 130 million migrant workers who left rural homes to work in the cities, said Dr Shan.
According to the CASS report, it has 118 megalopolises of over one million people and 39 super metropolises of more than two million residents, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.
There were fewer jobs for people who entered the job market last year and a decline in exports wiped out nearly two million new urban jobs, the sharpest drop since 2000.
‘One of the challenges will be unemployment,’ Dr Shan said.
‘According to research on 15 enterprises in five provinces, job vacancies have decreased by 5.3 per cent since the end of March.’
He noted that the unemployment situation could be worsened by China’s growing labour pool - an annual 15 million new job hunters and some six million college graduates this summer.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture in March, there were 11 million unemployed migrant workers.
The Blue Book, citing a CASS survey conducted in Jiangxi, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces after this year’s Chinese New Year, noted that the migrant worker return rate was not as high as media reports claimed.
The report suggested that the government seize the opportunity to achieve sustainable development in urban areas, the South China Morning Post reported.
It urged Beijing to increase investment in infrastructure, such as public transport, as the cost of raw materials decreases.
It also suggested upgrading information technology facilities to reduce the cost of urban living, and developing environmental protection hardware such as waste-water treatment plants to improve living standards.
The think-tank recommended that the central government reform the old residential registration system that discriminates against rural residents and grants numerous privileges in education, employment, medical treatment and welfare to city dwellers.
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China’s urban population surges to 607 million
BEIJING: China’s urban population has surged to 607 million, almost level with the rural population, said the latest report released by a central government think-tank.
Urbanisation has not, however, narrowed urban-rural income gaps in the world’s most populous nation of 1.3 billion people, according to the Blue Book of Cities in China, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Monday.
The urban-rural income ratio averaged about 5 last year, compared to the ratio of 2.79 in 2000, said Professor Wei Houkai, co- editor-in-chief of the Blue Book.
Farmers’ incomes have hit an annual average of 4,761 yuan (S$1,060) - about the same level as that of urban residents in the late 1990s.
The urban population had increased by 148 million since 2000, said Dr Shan Jingjing, a vice-editor-in-chief of the Blue Book. China had an urbanisation rate of 45.7 per cent at the end of last year, he added.
In the early 1980s, the rural population accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the population.
The urban surge reflected economic growth and labour migration, including 130 million migrant workers who left rural homes to work in the cities, said Dr Shan.
According to the CASS report, it has 118 megalopolises of over one million people and 39 super metropolises of more than two million residents, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.
There were fewer jobs for people who entered the job market last year and a decline in exports wiped out nearly two million new urban jobs, the sharpest drop since 2000.
‘One of the challenges will be unemployment,’ Dr Shan said.
‘According to research on 15 enterprises in five provinces, job vacancies have decreased by 5.3 per cent since the end of March.’
He noted that the unemployment situation could be worsened by China’s growing labour pool - an annual 15 million new job hunters and some six million college graduates this summer.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture in March, there were 11 million unemployed migrant workers.
The Blue Book, citing a CASS survey conducted in Jiangxi, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces after this year’s Chinese New Year, noted that the migrant worker return rate was not as high as media reports claimed.
The report suggested that the government seize the opportunity to achieve sustainable development in urban areas, the South China Morning Post reported.
It urged Beijing to increase investment in infrastructure, such as public transport, as the cost of raw materials decreases.
It also suggested upgrading information technology facilities to reduce the cost of urban living, and developing environmental protection hardware such as waste-water treatment plants to improve living standards.
The think-tank recommended that the central government reform the old residential registration system that discriminates against rural residents and grants numerous privileges in education, employment, medical treatment and welfare to city dwellers.
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