POVERTY STATISTICS IN CHINA
"Up to the end of 2013, demographically, 82.49 million people are still trapped in poverty according to China's poverty line( $1 a day), and 200 million according to the international one($1.25 a day)." This quote is directly from the Vice-Minister of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Development and Alleviation. However, from between 1980 and 2008, China's poverty rate has decreased from 85% to 33.1%; diminishing by more than half its previous size, and in 2012 the percentage dropped again to 27%. China's poor population during this time period also dropped from 250 million to 26.8 in around thirty years. China ranks 48 in the world for its unemployment rate at 4%. Meanwhile, the percent of the population that falls below the poverty line is 3.3%.
Source: http://tatetalks.web.unc.edu/files/2015/04/Poverty_in_Shanghai.pdf |
POVERTY V.S. MIDDLE & HIGH CLASS
The difference between rural and urban is considered to be the main divider between poor and rich. Local Household Registration systems prevent rural populations from accessing the same social benefits. Some of these benefits include schooling and education. The Zhongguo Institute did a study on rural migrant children's access to education. The majority of the rural population barely or doesn't finish middle school schooling. In addition, tertiary education, meaning any form of education beyond high school, is unable to be obtained. Those who are of lower class may also be robbed of privileges such as delivery to address and healthcare. These people also have less access to plumbing, ventilation, and sanitary utilities.
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TAXES & POLICIES
To combat poverty, China's Government implemented several policies such as: personal income tax reform, minimum wage increases and the abolition of agriculture taxes. The majority of these were first established in 2017, and in 2018 the tax reform policy was reestablished to prevent tax fraud and to improve poverty rates. These policies have been found to be very successful and have shown an improvement in the poverty rates. China's overall urban population's disposable income is 2.7 times as much as rural's. In 2007 the number was raised to around three times, making the 2.7 an effective improvement. Unfortunately, the income gap is still at a large, causing some to even migrate to other countries in hopes for a better life.
Source: Zhongguo Institute |