Nearly 48 million Chinese live below the domestic poverty line,
accounting for 3.7 % of the total population. According to
international standards, however, 135 million Chinese live below
the general poverty line, or 10% of the population. China's poverty
benchmark is a per capita annual income of 683 yuan (US$87), while
the poverty line defined by the World Bank is income or consumption
valued at not more than US$1 per day.
These figures are published in the Report of the Development
of an Overall Well-off Society (2006), as highlighted in a
Beijing Evening News story on October 27.
The report reveals there are 26 million needy people in China's
countryside. Another 22 million living in cities live below minimum
subsistence levels, or the poverty line. These 48 million people
account for 3.7% of China's total population.
According to international standards, however, the impoverished
are those whose personal daily expenses average below US$1. Based
on these calculations, the World Bank estimates that about 135
million Chinese, or 10% of the population, live below the
international poverty line, forming a key group that China should
show concern for in its drive to build an overall well-off
society.
(CRI November 1, 2006)