National Bureau of Statistics

People's Republic of China

February 28, 2002

    In 2001, under the correct leadership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, people of all nationalities of China implemented in real earnest the important theory of "Three Representatives". Efforts were made to overcome difficulties brought about by the complex and ever-changing international political and economic situations. Attention was focused on expanding domestic demand, implementing pro-active financial policy and sound monetary policy, accelerating structural reform of the economic system, actively pushing forward various reforms, opening wider to the outside world, and vigorously consolidating and standardizing market order, resulting in better quality of overall economic performance and efficiency. National economy continued to keep sustained and healthy growth. Overall progress was registered in education, science and technology and various social undertakings. The living standard of urban and rural households was further improved. A good start was made for the tenth "Five-Year Plan" and the third stage of the development strategy of China's modernization process.

　　I. General Outlook

　　National economy kept fast growth. According to preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the year was 9,593.3 billion yuan, up by 7.3 percent over the previous year at comparable prices. The value-added of the primary industry was 1,461 billion yuan, up by 2.8 percent. The value-added of the secondary industry was 4,906.9 billion yuan, up by 8.7 percent. The value-added of the tertiary industry was 3,225.4 billion yuan, up by 7.4 percent. 　　

　　Market prices were stable. The consumer price of the year was up by 0.7 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the consumer price level in urban areas was up 0.7 percent, and it was up 0.8 percent in rural areas. Analyzed by category of commodities, the prices for food maintained the same level over the previous year (of which, the prices for grain went down by 0.7 percent, the prices for meat, poultry and their products and for fresh vegetables went up by 1.6 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, the prices for eggs went up by 6.0 percent). The prices for tobacco and alcoholic beverages and for garments were down by 0.3 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. The prices for household appliances and transportation and telecommunications were down by 2.3 percent and 1.0 percent respectively. The prices for recreation, education and culture services were up by 6.6 percent, and 1.2 percent growth for housing. The ex-factory price of manufactured goods declined by 1.3 percent, and the purchasing price for energy, raw materials and power went down by 0.2 percent. The price for investment in fixed assets was up 0.4 percent.

　　The scope of employment continued to be broadened. By the end of 2001, the total of employed people in China numbered 730.25 million, or 9.40 million more than at the end of 2000. Of this total, 239.40 million were employed in urban areas, an increase of 7.89 million persons over that at the end of 2000. By the end of 2001, the number of laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises was 5.15 million, a decrease of 1.42 million persons as compared with that at the end of 2000. In the year 2001, about 2.27 million laid-off workers found new jobs through various measures. By the end of 2001, the urban unemployment rate through unemployment registration was 3.6 percent.

　　China's balance of payment was in good position. The trade surplus of the year was 22.5 billion US dollars, a decrease of 1.6 billion US dollars. The actually utilized foreign direct investment of the year was 46.8 billion US dollars, up by 14.9 percent over the previous year. By the end of 2001, China's foreign exchange reserves reached 212.2 billion US dollars, an increase of 46.6 billion US dollars as compared with that at the end of the pervious year. The exchange rate of RMB was stable. The exchange rate stood at 1 US dollar = 8.2766RMB yuan at the end of the year, an appreciation of 15 basic points.

　　New progress was achieved in the adjustment of economic structure, and the overall quality and efficiency of economic performance were further improved. Agricultural production was market oriented by optimizing the varieties, qualities and structures of farm products, resulting in a production concentration of major farm products in predominant producing areas. Fast growth was kept in high and new technology industries, while technical transformation of the traditional industries was enhanced. Headway was registered in selected industries by washing off outdated technology and cutting down excessive production capacity. Investment in western regions was strengthened to some extent. The overall efficiency index for all state-owned industrial enterprises and non-state-owned enterprise with annual sales income over 5 million yuan reached 122.1 percent, or 3.4 percentage points higher over the previous year. The profits made by those enterprises stood at 465.7 billion yuan, up by 8.1 percent.

　　Major problems that remained in economic performance and social development included: the still prominent structural problems and deep-rooted issue in the economic system; the difficulties in life for some people due to stronger pressure for employment and the slow increase of farmers' income; the operational difficulties encountered by some enterprises due to the lack of capability in innovation and in accommodating to the market demand; the frequent occurrence of serious accidents, no fundamental change in the segmentation of domestic market as a result of the protectionist attitudes of local governments; and the persistent market disorder.

　　II. Agriculture

　　Structural adjustment for crop production was continued. The sown areas of grain decreased as compared with that in the previous year. The sown areas of cotton increased by 760,000 hectares, that of sugar crops increased by 170,000 hectares, and that for vegetables rose by 1.15 million hectares. The sown areas of oil-bearing crops declined by 700,000 hectares, while that of high quality wheat for special uses increased by over 1.30 million hectares. The share of sown areas of high quality rice accounted for 50 percent and large increase was registered in the sown areas of high quality rapeseeds.

　　The output of grain decreased to some extent. Influenced by structure adjustment of sown areas and severe droughts, the total output of grain for the whole year was 452.62 million tons, down by 2.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the output of summer grain was 101.88 million tons, down by 4.6 percent; that of early rice was 33.96 million tons, down by 9.5 percent; and the production of autumn grain was 316.78 million tons, down by 0.3 percent.

　　The output of cotton and sugar increased, and that of oil-bearing crops decreased. The total output of cotton for the year was 5.32 million tons, up by 20.4 percent over the previous year. The output of sugar crops was 87.90 million tons, up by 15.1 percent. The output of oil-bearing crops was 28.72 million tons, down by 2.8 percent. With increased quality varieties, vegetable production kept fast growth.

　　Steady progress was seen in animal husbandry and fishery. The total output of meat for the year reached 63.40 million tons, up by 3.5 percent. The total output of aquatic products was 43.75 million tons, up by 2.3 percent.

　　Forestry and water conservancy made new progress. The total afforested area in 2001 was 5.30 million hectares, up by 3.8 percent. Of this total, the afforested area through "grain for green" projects was 400,000 hectares. About 80 percent of the main embankment along the Yangtze River has come up to the standards. A total of 544 kilometers of embankment were heightened along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Over one million hectares of land were converted into farmland with effective irrigation system, another 1.30 million hectares of land were guaranteed by water-saving irrigation system. Comprehensive land recovery program was applied to over 5 million hectares of once eroded areas.

　　III. Industry and Construction

　　Fast growth was registered in industrial production. In 2001, the total value-added of the industrial sector was 4,260.7 billion yuan, up by 8.9 percent over the previous year. The value-added of state-owned industrial enterprises and non-state-owned industrial enterprises with an annual sales income over 5 million yuan was 2,695.0 billion yuan, up by 9.9 percent. Of this total, the value-added created by state-owned enterprises and joint-ownership enterprises where the state held the controlling share was 1,519.8 billion yuan, up 8.1 percent. The value-added of collective enterprises was 314.1 billion yuan, up 7.2 percent; of joint-stock enterprises, 808.6 billion yuan, up 10.4 percent; of enterprises invested by foreigners or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, 662.2 billion yuan, up 11.9 percent. The value-added of heavy industry was 1,630.1 billion yuan, up by 11.1 percent, and that of light industry was 1,064.9 billion yuan, up by 8.6 percent. The sales ratio of industrial enterprises was 97.7 percent, slightly higher than that in the previous year.

　　Fast growth was registered in the production of those products embodied with high and new technology, while new progress was also registered in selected industries by washing off outdated technology and cutting down excessive production capacity. The value-added of new manufactured products increased by 15.7 percent over 2000. The output of electronic and telecommunications products and equipment, such as microwave telecommunication equipment, optical telecommunication equipment, mobile telephones and computers rose by varying margins ranging from 28.9 percent to 87.5 percent. The output of cars and numerically controlled machine tools that contain high technology and high added value kept fast growth. The output of raw coal was up 10.9 percent; that of crude oil was up by 1.3 percent; electric power, up by 9.0 percent; rolled steel, up by 19.8 percent; and the output of 10 kinds of non-ferrous metals, up by 10.5 percent. In 2001, some 10,944 small coal mines of various categories were closed, and 12 small steel mills were shut down. The outdated production capacity of small cement mills was cut down by 15.20 million tons, and that of the small glasswork was cut down by 2.63 million weight cases. Also closed were some small thermal power generating units with generating capacity of 2.30 million kilowatts.

　　Rapid growth was seen in the production of construction enterprises. In 2001, the value-added of construction enterprises was 646.2 billion yuan, up by 7.4 percent over the previous year. The profits made by construction enterprises with Grade IV or higher qualification reached 22.6 billion yuan, up by 17.6 percent, and the taxes they paid stood at 44.1 billion yuan, up by 13.9 percent. The total numbers of projects under construction reached 830,000, of which projects started through bidding process stood at 350,000, accounting for 42.2 percent of all projects. The total floor space of buildings under construction during the year was 1,787.58 million square meters, an increase of 186.16 million square meters. Floor space of buildings completed during the year was 825.42 million square meters, an increase of 18.28 million square meters.

　　The reform of the state-owned enterprise was further deepened. The building of the modern corporate system accelerated, and new progress was made in standardizing the performance of share-holding enterprises, focusing on fostering a group of large corporations and enterprise groups with market competitiveness, independent intellectual property and international competitive edge. The re-organization of small enterprises achieved significant results: mines with resource depletion and enterprises with insolvency stopped operation through closing or bankruptcy process. The efficiency of state-owned industrial enterprises maintained fairly high level, with their profits reaching 233 billion yuan during the year. Coal industry reversed the situation of loss making for consecutive year, and metallurgy and automobile industries witnessed fast growth of profits.

　　IV. Investment in Fixed Assets

　　Investment in fixed assets kept fast growth. The completed investment in fixed assets of the country in 2001 was 3,689.8 billion yuan, representing an increase of 12.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the investment of state-owned units and units with other types of ownership was 2,640.1 billion yuan, up by 12.8 percent; that of collective units was 518.9 billion yuan, up by 8.1 percent over the previous year. The investment of urban and rural individuals was 530.8 billion yuan, up 12.7 percent. Analyzed by purposes, investment in capital construction was 1,456.7 billion yuan, up by 8.5 percent; that in technical updating and transformation reached 588.9 billion yuan, up by 15.3 percent, and that in real estate development was 624.5 billion yuan, up by 25.3 percent, and investment for other purposes was 1,019.7 billion yuan, up by 8.5 percent.

　　Investment structure continued to improve. In 2001, the investment in primary industry was 88.8 billion yuan, keeping the same level over the previous year. Investment in secondary industry was 863.3 billion yuan, up by 7.8 percent, of which the investment in raw material was up 17.0 percent, that in machine building and electronics industries went up by 21.7 percent, and 23.9 percent growth for light and textile industries. Investment in tertiary industry was 1,830.6 billion yuan, up by 17.6 percent, of which the investment in transportation, posts and telecommunications was up by 13.7 percent, and that in real estate and public consultancy service was up by 24.1 percent. The construction of key infrastructure projects such as rural power grid, main highway trunks and key water conservancy projects was accelerated.

　　Investment in western areas registered relatively high growth. In 2001, the investment in eastern areas was 1,588.3 billion yuan, up by 13.3 percent over the previous year; that in central areas was 631.6 billion yuan, an increase of 16.3 percent, and the investment in western areas was 470.4 billion yuan, up by 19.3 percent, representing an increase higher than that in eastern and central areas. A number of key projects were started, including Qinghai-Tibet railway project and West-East power transmission project.

　　The newly-increased annual production capacity in 2001 through capital construction projects included: 10.81 million tons of coal mining, 18.98 million tons of oil extraction, 2.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas extraction, 14.98 million kilowatts of power generation by large and medium-sized generators, 53.47 million kilovolt-amperes of power transformer equipment each with a capacity of over 110,000 kilovolts. The year 2001 also saw the operation of 1,210 kilometers of new trunk railways, 1,443 kilometers of double-track railways, 29,278 kilometers of newly constructed highways (including 3,017 kilometers of express highways), 57.90 million tons of cargo-handling capacity of harbors, 31 million gates of the installed capacity of telephone switchboards, 250,000 kilometers of optical-fiber cables; installed capacity of switchboards capable of accommodating 80 million digital cellular mobile phone subscribers.

　　V. Domestic Trade

　　Commodity sales on domestic market increased steadily. In 2001, the total retail sales of consumer goods was 3,759.5 billion yuan, up 10.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 2,354.3 billion yuan, up by 11.5 percent, and the retail sales of consumer goods at and below county level was 1,405.2 billion yuan, up by 7.7 percent. The sales of the wholesale and retail trades reached 2,551.1 billion yuan, up by 10.7 percent, the sales of the catering industry was 436.9 billion yuan, up by 16.4 percent, and the sales of other industry was 771.6 billion yuan, up by 4.9 percent.

　　Sales at the market for means of production were stable. The total sales of means of production by wholesale and retail enterprises above designated size were 1,644.9 billion yuan, up by 4.0 percent over the previous year.

　　The sales of wholesale and retail enterprises above designated size kept growing, however, their economic efficiency declined. In the first 11 months of 2001, the net sales income reached 2,460.1 billion yuan, up 4.5 percent over the same period of last year. Of this total, the growth of wholesale trade was 3.0 percent, and that of retail trade was 12.0 percent. The gross margin rate was 7.8 percent, of which the wholesale trade was 6.7 percent, and 12.8 percent for retail trade. The expense ratio was 8.0 percent, of which, that of wholesale trade was 6.7 percent, and 14.0 percent for retail trade. The profits made stood at 24.5 billion yuan, a decline of 9.1 percent over the same period of last year. Of the total, the profit of wholesale trade was down by 12.0 percent and that of retail trade was up 11.6 percent.

　　VI. Foreign Economic Relations

　　Growth was made in import and export. Total value of import and export in 2001 reached 509.8 billion US dollars, up by 7.5 percent over the previous year. The value of export was 266.2 billion US dollars, up 6.8 percent, and the value of import was 243.6 billion US dollars, up by 8.2 percent. Among the total export, the export of general trade was 111.9 billion US dollars, up by 6.4 percent, and the export of the processing trade was 147.5 billion US dollars, up by 7.1 percent. The export of machinery and electronic products and new and high-tech products kept fast growth, of which, the export of machinery and electronic products stood at 118.8 billion US dollars, up by 12.8 percent, accounting for 44.6 percent of the total export, or 2.3 percentage points higher than that in the previous year. The export of new and high-tech products reached 46.5 billion US dollars, up by 25.4 percent, accounting for 17.5 percent of the total export, or 2.6 percentage points higher.

　　Analyzed by destination, China's export to the United States in 2001 was 54.3 billion US dollars, up by 4.2 percent over the previous year; to Hong Kong SAR, 46.5 billion US dollars, up by 4.6 percent; to Japan 45.0 billion US dollars, up by 7.9 percent; to European Union countries 40.9 billion US dollars, up by 7.1 percent; to ASEA countries 18.4 billion US dollars, up by 6.0 percent; to the Republic of Korea 12.5 billion US dollars, up by 10.9 percent; to Russian 2.7 billion US dollars, up by 21.4 percent; to Latin American countries 8.2 billion US dollars, up by 14.6 percent; and to African countries 6.0 billion US dollars, up by 19.1 percent.

　　Foreign direct investment increased rapidly. In 2001, 26,139 enterprises with foreign investment were established with the government approval, up by 16.0 percent over the previous year. The contracted foreign capitals stood at 69.2 billion US dollars, up 10.4 percent; and the foreign capitals actually utilized were 46.8 billion US dollars, up 14.9 percent.

　　Foreign economic cooperation continued to grow. In 2001, the accomplished business revenue was 12.1 billion US dollars, up by 7.2 percent; the value of new contracts signed was 16.5 billion US dollars, up by 10.1 percent.

　　VII. Transportation, Post, Telecommunications and Tourism

　　Steady growth was seen in transportation, posts and telecommunications. In 2001, the completed value-added reached 522.2 billion yuan, up by 6.5 percent over the previous year.

　　In 2001, the total volume of cargo transported by various means was 4,630.4 billion ton-kilometers, up by 4.8 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the cargo transportation by railways was 1,457.5 billion ton-kilometers, up 6.7 percent; by highways, 618.0 billion ton-kilometers, up 0.8 percent; by waterways, 2,486.0 billion ton-kilometers, up 4.7 percent; and by airways, 4.4 billion ton-kilometers, up 3.8 percent. The volume of passenger transportation by various means was 1,300.0 billion person-kilometers, an increase of 6.0 percent over the previous year. Of this total, passengers carried by railways were 476.7 billion person-kilometers, up 5.2 percent; by highways, 704.7 billion person-kilometers, up 5.8 percent; by waterways, 9.5 billion person-kilometers, down by 5.6 percent; and by civil aviation, 109.1 billion person-kilometers, up 12.5 percent. Ports throughout the country handled 2.4 billion tons of cargo, up 8.8 percent over the previous year, including 600 million tons of merchandise for foreign trade, up by 13.6 percent.

　　The business transactions of postal and telecommunication services in 2001 totaled 437.0 billion yuan, up 24.0 percent over the previous year. By the end of 2001, total capacity of office exchanges reached 200 million gates. Telephone subscribers reached 179.0 million, including 111.0 million urban subscribers and 68.0 million rural subscribers. Mobile telephone users numbered 144.8 million, making China the first in the world. There were 26 telephones per 100 population in China. Subscribers to Internet services topped 30.0 million.

　　Domestic and international tourism developed continuously. The year 2001 saw 783.66 million domestic tourists, up 5.3 percent over the previous year. Income from domestic tourism stood at 352.2 billion yuan, up 10.9 percent. In 2001, China received 89.01 million tourists from overseas, up 6.7 percent. Of all tourists visiting China, 11.23 million were foreigners, up 10.5 percent; 77.78 million were Chinese compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, up 6.2 percent. Of all the tourists from overseas, 33.16 million stayed in China for at least one night, up 6.2 percent. Income of foreign exchange from international tourism reached 17.8 billion US dollars, up 9.7 percent. A total of 12.13 million Chinese went abroad in the year 2001, up 15.9 percent over the previous year, including 6.95 million on their private visits, up by 23.4 percent.

　　VIII. Banking, Security and Insurance

　　Money supply registered moderate increase. By the end of 2001, the money supply of broad sense (M2) was 15,830.2 billion yuan, up 14.4 percent over the previous year, and that of narrow sense (M1) was 5,987.2 billion yuan, up 12.7 percent. The cash in circulation (M0) amounted to 1,568.9 billion yuan, up 7.1 percent.

　　Savings deposits and loans increased steadily. Savings deposits in various forms in all banking institutions at the end of 2001 totaled 14,361.7 billion yuan, up by 16.0 percent. Of this total, savings of enterprises accounted for 5,154.7 billion yuan, up 16.9 percent, and the savings deposits by urban and rural households reached 7,376.2 billion yuan, up 14.7 percent. The year-end value of loans stood at 11,231.4 billion yuan, up 11.6 percent with comparable approach. Of this total, the short-term loans were 6,732.7 billion yuan, up by 7.7 percent; and the long-term and medium-term loans were 3,427.3 billion yuan, up by 15.2 percent. The structure of loans continued to be improved. The loans of rural credit cooperatives stood at 1,197.1 billion yuan, an increase of 139.5 billion. Loans for consumption were 699.0 billion yuan, an increase of 275.5 billion, of which loans for individual housing were 559.8 billion yuan, an increase of 228.2 billion. The loans for capital construction to supplement projects funded by the state treasury bonds were allocated in a timely way.

　　Stock market was further developed. In 2001, 84 companies issued A shares (including newly issued) and another 126 companies issued A shares rights at Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, with capital paid-in topped 109.8 billion yuan, a decline of 40.1 billion over 2000. The issue of 9 B shares and H shares helped to draw 7.0 billion yuan worth of foreign capital, a decrease of 50.7 billion yuan. The capital raised through issuing of shares and rights were 116.8 billion yuan, a decline of 93.5 billion yuan. The number of listed companies (with A or B shares) in China's stock markets rose from 1,088 at the end of 2000 to 1,160 at the end of 2001, worth of 4,352.2 billion yuan, down by 9.5 percent. The new domestic debts through the issuance of treasury bonds totaled 488.4 billion yuan, an increase of 22.7 billion yuan over the previous year.

　　Insurance service developed vigorously. In 2001, the insurance premium totaled 210.9 billion yuan, up 32.2 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the premium of property insurance was 68.5 billion yuan, that of life insurance was 128.8 billion yuan, and that of health and unforeseen accident insurance was 13.6 billion yuan. The insurance companies paid an indemnity of 59.8 billion yuan as reparations in insurance programs, of which the indemnity of property insurance and short-term life insurance was 39.5 billion yuan. Another 20.3 billion yuan was paid as reparations in life insurance programs.

　　IX. Education, Science and Technology

　　Education of all levels and forms made overall development. There were 7.19 million enrolled undergraduate students in general universities in China, including 2.68 million new entrants, an increase of 480,000 new entrants. Institutions of adult higher education had 4.56 million enrolled students, including 1.96 million new entrants. There were 390,000 enrolled graduate students in universities or research institutes, including 170,000 new entrants, an increase of 40,000 new entrants. There were 14.05 million students studying in ordinary senior secondary schools including 5.58 million new entrants, and 11.64 million students in secondary vocational or technical schools of various types, including 3.98 million new entrants. Students enrolled in junior secondary schools totaled 65.14 million, including 22.88 million new entrants. Pupils enrolled in primary schools numbered 125.43 million, and the new entrants were 19.44 million. There were 390,000 students in special education schools, with 60,000 new entrants. Kindergartens accommodated 20.22 million kids. Adult technical training schools offered courses to 92.70 million persons.

　　Significant progress was made in scientific research and development (R&D) activities and in the application of the results. By the end of 2001, China had 28.87 million professionals and technicians of all specialization working in state-owned enterprises and institutions. A total of 930,000 person-years were engaged in R&D activities, including 700,000 person-years involving scientists and engineers. In 2001, the expenditure on R&D for the whole country reached 96.0 billion yuan, up 7.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, 4.7 billion yuan were used for basic research. In 2001, the state organized 647 key technical innovation projects and 1,329 key pilot production projects for new products. Another 80 key projects concerning the development of major technical equipment were completed and approved after evaluation. There were over 220 newly arranged key hi-tech industrialization projects and demonstrating projects. In 2001, China gained 28,376 key scientific results, including 1,854 results in the field of basic theories, 24,966 results in applied technologies and 1,556 results for soft sciences. A total of 203,582 applications for patent were received from domestic and overseas applicants, while 114,252 patents were authorized, up 19.3 percent and 8.5 percent respectively. In 2001, a total of 240,000 contracts on the transfer of technology were signed, involving a transaction value of 80.0 billion yuan, up by 23.0 percent over the previous year.

　　Comprehensive technical service was further improved. By the end of 2001, there were altogether 5,500 institutions in China that were responsible for the inspection and supervision of the quality of manufactured products, including 233 state inspection centers. Surveys were conducted by authorized institutions to check the quality of 9,858 products of 211 categories from 8,166 enterprises. There were 79 quality authentication institutions, of which 29 were product authentication institutions, which provided product authentication service to nearly 20,000 enterprises. There were altogether 4,939 authorized measurement inspection institutions, which enforced compulsory inspection on 32.34 million measuring instruments in 2001. A total of 1,045 national standards of various types were formulated or amended, including 497 new standards. There were 841 urban and rural weather forecast service and transmission stations, 319 satellite cloud map receiving stations, 1,245 seismology monitoring stations and 28 remote monitoring network stations. There were 917 marine monitoring spots. Surveying and mapping departments published 1,187 kinds of maps and 327 kinds of books.

　　Some 176 new mineral deposits of large or medium scale were discovered through national land resource survey and geological surveys. Increased reserves were found for 42 minerals, including 700 million tons of crude oil, 430.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 1.6 billion tons of coal. There were 31 geological environmental monitoring stations, which made successful forecasts on 195 geological disasters.

　　X. Culture, Public Health and Sports

　　Fairly fast growth was registered in cultural and art undertakings, broadcasting and movie and televisions programs and news and publishing undertakings. By the end of 2001, there were 2,621 art-performing groups, 2,899 culture centers, 2,689 public libraries and 1,394 museums in China. There were 311 broadcasting stations and 770 medium and short wave radio transmitting and relaying stations throughout China, bringing radio programs to 92.9 percent of the total population. There were 358 television stations covering 94.1 percent of the total population. The cable television users reached 88.03 million. In 2001, China produced 88 feature movies and another 66 scientific, educational, documentary or cartoon films. National and provincial newspapers issued 21.6 billion copies; magazines, 2.9 billion copies; and books, 6.3 billion copies. There were 3,885 archives in China where 48.17 million documents were made accessible to the public.

　　Stable progress was made in public health undertakings. By the end of 2001, there were 330,000 health care institutions in China, including 70,000 hospitals and health care stations, with a total of 3.19 million beds, 2.97 million of which in hospitals and health care stations; and 4.49 million health workers, including 2.09 million doctors in hospitals and health-care stations, and 1.28 million senior and junior nurses. China also had 6,025 anti-epidemic and disease prevention stations employing 220,000 health workers, and 2,539 maternal and child health-care institutions employing 80,000 health workers. There were 50,000 health-care institutions at township level in rural areas, with 740,000 beds and 1.02 million health workers. Rural villages with medical-care stations made up 89.7 percent of all villages in China, employing 1.28 million rural doctors and health workers.

　　Vigorous development was scored in sports. In 2001, Chinese athletes won 89 world champions at domestic and international sport games. Eight athletes and 2 teams broke 10 world records on 12 occasions, 15 athletes and 3 teams broke 15 Asian records on 20 occasions. The ninth National Sport Games was successfully held. The national Fit-Keeping Program was further spread out. The national constitutional monitoring work was carried out in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. In 2001, some 2.6 billion yuan raised through selling of sports lotteries were used for the Olympic Glory Program and National Fit-Keeping Program.

　　XI. Environment Protection

　　Among the 340 cities under the environment monitoring program, the air quality of 117 cities met Standard II, accounting for 34.4 percent of the total, down by 1.2 percentage points over the pervious year; another 114 cities met Standard III, accounting for 33.5 percent, or 3.6 percentage points higher; and the rest 109 cities failed to meet Standard III, accounting for 32.1 percent, or down by 2.3 percentage points. Particulate matter remained as the major pollutant in Chinese cities. Among the 47 key cities under the environment protection program, pollution from sulfur dioxide in selected cities was getting worse to some extent; the proportion of cities where pollution was higher than the set standard increased. Among 273 cities that were under road noise monitoring program, about 9.5 percent had serious noise pollution; as for the 210 cities that were under area noise monitoring program, 50.5 percent of the cities had less noise pollution than the set standard for urban living areas. There were 3,314 smoke/dust control zones, covering an area of 20,000 square kilometers; and there were another 3,121 zones covering over 10,000 square kilometers, where the noise pollution was reduced below the specified level.

　　The pollution of the major water system was till prominent. As for surface water quality taken from the trunk stream section of China's seven major rivers, 51.7 percent met the national Standard III, down by 6 percentage points over the previous year; 26.1 percent met Standard IV, up 4.5 percentage points; 12.8 percent met Standard V, the same level as in the previous year; and the quality of another 9.4 percent of the surface water failed to meet Standard V, up 1.5 percentage points. The water quality of the offshore areas was basically stable. The marine water quality as observed from the 357 offshore monitoring points was as following: national Standard I, 12.2 percent; Standard II, 27.8 percent; Standard III, 18.6 percent; Standard IV, 12.5 percent; and below Standard IV, 28.9 percent.

　　Protection of ecological system was further enhanced. There were 82 ecological demonstration zones at national level involving 215 pilot areas or units. China also had 1,551 natural protection zones including 171 national protection zones, covering 144.72 million hectares or 14.4 percent of the total land areas of the country.

　　XII. Population, People's Life and Social Securities

　　The natural growth rate of population continued to decline. By the end of 2001, the total population of China was 1,276.27 million. Of the total population, those living in urban areas were 480.64 million, accounting for 37.7 percent, and those living in rural areas were 795.63 million, accounting for 62.3 percent. The total population of male was 656.72 million, and 619.55 million were females. The proportion of population in the age group of 0 to 14 years was 22.5 percent, in age group 15-64 years was 70.4 percent, and in age group 65 and over was 7.1 percent, with total aged population standing at 90.62 million. The year 2001 saw 17.02 million births with a crude birth rate of 13.38 per thousand, and 8.18 million deaths, with a crude death rate of 6.43 per thousand. The net growth of population in 2001 was 8.84 million persons, representing a natural population growth rate of 6.95 per thousand.

　　The living standard of urban and rural households continued to improve. The annual per capita disposable income of urban households was 6,860 yuan in 2001, a real increase of 8.5 percent. The per capita net income of rural households was 2,366 yuan, a real growth of 4.2 percent, of which the cash income was 1,748 yuan, a real growth of 5.7 percent. Housing condition for residents continued to improve. A total of 540 million square meters of new residential buildings were completed in urban areas, and 740 million square meters of new houses were built in rural areas in 2001. The Engel coefficient for urban and rural households was 37.9 percent and 47.8 percent respectively, both representing a decline of 1.3 percentage points over the previous year.

　　Social security system was further consolidated. By the end of 2001, some 103.55 million staff and workers participated in the unemployment insurance program, and a total of 3.12 million people received their unemployment insurance. Some 106.30 million staff and workers and over 33.46 million retirees participated in the basic retirement security program, and 76.29 million staff and workers participated in the basic health care program. "Two Guarantees" were implemented. The minimum standard of living was guaranteed for over 90 percent of the laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises. The majority of the retirees received their full retirement pension in a timely way, and 97.8 percent of the retirement pension was provided through socialized network. Some 11.23 million urban residents whose income fell below the minimum income standard received minimum life guarantee relief.

　　Social welfare work continued to develop. There were 1.16 million beds in social welfare institutions of various types that could provide with food and accommodation in China in 2001, with 830,000 inmates. Some 210,000 community service facilities were established in urban areas, including 9,924 community service centers. In 2001, 4.1 billion yuan worth of social welfare funds were raised through issuing of welfare lottery tickets, and welfare donations from the society reached 700 million yuan. 　　

　　Notes:

　　1) All figures in the Communiqué are preliminary statistics.

　　2) Statistics in the Communiqué do not include figures for Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, which will be released by the governments of Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR.

　　3) Statistics in the Communiqué do not include figures of Taiwan Province.

　　4) Figures in value terms on gross domestic product and value-added of various sectors quoted in the Communiqué are at current prices, whereas growth rates are calculated at comparable prices.

　　5) Newly increased annual production capacity figures with regard to the extraction of oil and natural gas, urban telephone switchboards, length of distance optical-fiber cables and digital cellular mobile phone switchboards include the capacity built through technical updating and transformation projects.

　　6) The value of business transactions of postal and telecommunication services was calculated using constant prices for the year 2000.

　　7) Engel coefficient refers to the proportion of expenditure on food to the total consumption expenditure of households.