Dramatic drop in China's poor

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-9  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE number of Chinese people under extreme poverty has dropped from 250 million in 1978 to 14.79 million in 2007, according to national statistics on rural poverty observation.

The research, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Council Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development, showed people, who have enough food and clothing but still had a low income, declined from 62.13 million in 2000 to 28.41 million in 2007.

At an International Poverty Reduction Center in China training course in Beijing yesterday, Chinese officials and experts exchanged experiences with their counterparts from Central Asia on poverty alleviation, and briefed them on China's achievements.

According to the statistics, living conditions and social development in the country's poor areas made remarkable improvements.

In 2007, among villages in key counties with national support for poverty reduction, 82.8 percent had access to highways, 96.5 percent to electricity, 92.2 percent to radio and TV programs, and 85.2 percent had access to telephone services.

About 95.3 percent of children aged from seven to 15 in these counties are studying in schools. Illiteracy rates among the workforce of rural families dropped to 11.5 percent. Villages that had doctors or paramedics accounted for 75.6 percent of the total. Altogether, 73.5 percent of rural households in these counties had safe drinking water.

IPRCC director Zhang Lei said at the opening ceremony that China is willing to cooperate and share its experience with other countries.

The number of people getting out of poverty in China between 1990 and 2007 accounted for more than 70 percent of the global figure. The country also reached the goal set by the UN Millennium Development Goals of halving its poor population ahead of schedule.

Since its establishment in 2005, the IPRCC has provided training programs for 239 officials from 63 developing countries across the world.