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China
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MDG Profile:
On track for most of the MDGs, with hopes for sustainable development
As the largest developing country, China sees achievement of overall economic and social development and improvement of the quality of people’s lives as its top priority. China has its own sets of sustainable development goals, represented by the national vision of establishing “Xiao Kang,” an all-round, harmonious society, by 2020. There is a rare similarity between the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Xiaokang, as both envision a “people’s agenda”, and focus on the kind of development that makes a visible, measurable difference in the lives of people.
Generally speaking, China has made enormous progress towards the achievement of its MDGs. Since 1990, poverty, especially absolute poverty in rural areas, has been greatly reduced. China has now achieved the target of halving the number of poor people from the 1990 figure of 85 million. Current national poverty reduction efforts target both absolute and relative populations. Some of the MDG targets such as primary education have already been achieved 13 years ahead of schedule. The mortality rate of children under five dropped from 61 per 1,000 births in 1991 to 25 in 2004. The maternal mortality ratio has dropped from 89 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 51.3 in 2003. The Government of China supports international development cooperation as a means of narrowing the gap between North and South. The Government supports maintaining and improving the multilateral trade system to create a favourable trade environment for developing countries.
While China is on track nationally for most of the MDGs, inequality has increased and there is a need to work towards balanced regional economic growth and to realize sustainable development with equity. National figures mask large and growing development gaps between the relatively rich eastern coastal zone and poor central and western regions. Similarly, gender gaps have been developing recently, with women falling behind men in some respects. The Government has an ambitious plan in place to deal with the development challenge of the western region with a view to reducing the current development gap, and the All-China Women’s Federation is also working to address gender gaps.
China has recently stepped up its efforts to raise public awareness and to improve treatment and care, and support people living with HIV/AIDS. While political commitment to address HIV/AIDS has improved in recent years at the national level in China, it remains largely inadequate at the provincial and local levels. Greater efforts will be required for China to be on track for halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
China’s large and growing population, the increased demand for various products and large-scale, inappropriate, land use practices have a negative impact on the quality of the scarce productive land and other natural resources. China’s already stressed environment is experiencing additional stress caused by the rapid industrialization, urbanization and the significant increase in individual consumption. The initiation of a scientific outlook on development will strongly push forward China’s sustainable development.
Last updated 1 November 2007 Click to learn more about organizations, projects and individuals on the ground from Scientists Without Borders.
View Data Map of MDG Indicator
for this Location
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
Total population
(millions): |
1328.6 |
Surface area
(sq. km): |
9,596,961 |
GDP per capita
(PPP US$): |
7,660 |
GDP growth
(annual %): |
10.7
|
Human Development Index
(Rank 1 - 177): |
81 |
Life expectancy at birth
(years): |
72.0 |
Population below PPP $1 per day
(%): |
9.9 |
Net enrolment ratio in primary education
(% both sexes): |
99.1 |
Carbon dioxide emissions per capita
(metric tons): |
3.8393 |
Unemployment, total
(% of total labor force): |
4.2 |
NOTE: The MDG data presented here is the latest available from the United Nations Statistics Division. The World Bank has recently released new poverty estimates, which reflect improvements in internationally comparable price data. The new data estimates set a new poverty line of US$1.25 a day and offer a much more accurate picture of the cost of living in developing countries. They are based on the results of the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP), released in first half of 2008. Country-specific poverty estimates will be released by the World Bank in late 2008
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