Statistical communique of national and social development in 2004
(National Bureau of Statistics of China)
In 2004, under the correct leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, and guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of "Three Represents," the Chinese people thoroughly implemented the spirit of the 16th National Congress of the CPC and the Third Plenary Session and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee, introduced the scientific concept of development strategy and carefully carried out various measures set by the central government aimed at enhancing and improving macroeconomic regulation which led to remarkable achievements. Unstable and unhealthy factors in economic performance were brought under control. Those weak links existing in agriculture, infrastructure construction and social undertakings were strengthened. And a favourable turn took place in agricultural production. Excessive investment growth in some industries was curbed initially. Reform in various fields progressed steadily and China is opening further to the outside world. New headway was made in employment, re-employment and social security programmes. The living standard of the urban and rural population continued to improve. The national economy remained steady and enjoyed rapid growth with accelerated development of various social undertakings. The main targets set for the economic and social development have been achieved.
I. General Outlook
Preliminary estimates indicated that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the year was 13,651.5 billion yuan (US$1,645 billion), up by 9.5 per cent over the previous year at comparable prices. The value-added of primary industry was 2,074.4 billion yuan (US$249 billion), up 6.3 per cent. The value-added of secondary industry was 7,238.7 billion yuan (US$872 billion), up by 11.1 per cent. The value-added of tertiary industry was 4,338.4 billion yuan, up by 8.3 per cent. The contribution rates of the primary and tertiary industries towards GDP growth were 9.2 per cent and 29.0 per cent respectively, or 5.2 and 2.8 percentage points higher as compared with that in the previous year.
The general level of consumer prices in China was up by 3.9 per cent over the previous year. Of this total, the prices for service items were up 2.3 per cent. The retail prices of commodities were up by 2.8 per cent, while the producers' prices for manufactured goods increased by 6.1 per cent, and the purchasing prices for raw materials, fuel and power went up by 11.4 per cent. The prices for investment in fixed assets were up 5.6 per cent. Producers' prices of farm products were up 13.1 per cent.
In 2004, about 9.8 million new jobs were created for urban residents, 800,000 more than the expected target, and 5.1 million laid-off workers were re-employed. The urban registered unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent at the end of 2004, or 0.1 percentage point lower than that in 2003.
By the end of 2004, China's foreign exchange reserves reached US$609.9 billion, an increase of US$206.7 billion as compared with that at the end of the previous year. The exchange rate of the renminbi remained stable, the year-end exchange rate was 8.2765 yuan to US$1, which was two basic points higher over that at the end of the previous year.
Tax income of various forms for the whole year reached 2,571.8 billion yuan (US$310 billion) (excluding tariffs and agricultural taxes), up by 25.7 per cent, an increase of 525.6 billion yuan (US$63.2 billion) over the previous year. The profits made by industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 1,134.2 billion yuan (US$136.6 billion), an increase of 38.1 per cent over the previous year.
Main problems that existed in the economic and social development included: the unstable basis for agriculture, the difficulties in maintaining the growth of grain production and rural household incomes; the large number of newly started projects or projects under construction, high impulse of blind or overspread investment; high price rises for energy and raw materials; the tense relation between supply and demand of energy and transportation, the occasional occurrence of severe accidents in production; the prominent phenomenon of the wasting of resources and environmental pollution, and the relatively difficult life of some households.
II. Agriculture
In 2004, the sown area of grain was 101.61 million hectares, an increase of 2.20 million hectares as compared with that in the previous year, and the sown area of cotton was 5.69 million hectares, an increase of 580,000 hectares. The sown area of oil-bearing crops was 14.52 million hectares, a decline of 470,000 hectares, the sown area of sugar crops was 1.57 million hectares, a decrease of 90,000 hectares; and that for vegetables stood at 17.67 million hectares, a decline of 290,000 hectares.
The total output of grain in 2004 was 469.47 million tons, up 38.77 million tons or 9.0 per cent over the previous year. The output of cotton was 6.32 million tons, an increase of 30.1 per cent; that of oil-bearing crops was 30.57 million tons, up by 8.8 per cent. The output of sugar crops was 95.28 million tons, a decrease of 1.2 per cent. Steady progress was seen in vegetable and fruits production due to expanded use of high quality varieties.
The total output of meat for the year reached 72.60 million tons, up 4.7 per cent. Of this total, the output of beef and mutton was up 7.9 per cent and 10.6 per cent. The total output of aquatic products was 48.55 million tons, up by 3.2 per cent.
Over 980,000 hectares of land were converted into farmland with effective irrigation system, another 1.30 million hectares of land were guaranteed by water-saving irrigation systems.
III. Industry and Construction
In 2004, the total value-added of the industrial sector was 6,281.5 billion yuan (US$756.7 billion), up 11.5 per cent over the previous year. The value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 5,480.5 billion yuan (US$660 billion), up 16.7 per cent. The sales ratio of industrial enterprises was 98.1 per cent, or 0.2 percentage points higher than that in the previous year.
In 2004, the total output of primary energy reached 1,846 million tons of standard coal equivalent, up 15.2 per cent over the previous year. The electricity generated for the whole year was 2,187.0 billion kilowatt-hours, up by 14.5 per cent. The output of coal was 1,956 million tons, up by 17.3 per cent. The output of crude oil reached 175 million tons, up by 2.9 per cent.
In 2004, the value-added of the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals was up 26.8 per cent over the previous year; that of nonferrous metals was up 22.4 per cent; that of raw chemical materials and chemical products and that of non-metal mineral products was up 18.2 and 19.9 per cent respectively. Among major raw material products, the output of crude steel stood at 273 million tons, up by 22.7 per cent; that of rolled steel was 297 million tons, up by 23.3 per cent. The output of cement was 970 million tons, up by 12.5 per cent. The production of 10 kinds of nonferrous metals went up by 16.4 per cent; that of sulphuric acid, soda ash, caustic soda, ethylene and major chemical products increased from 2.4 per cent to 18.5 per cent.
In 2004, the value-added of the general equipment manufacturing industry was up 22.2 per cent over the previous year. The growth of the electronic machinery and equipment manufacturing industry was 17.7 per cent, and that of the transport equipment manufacturing industry was 14.0 per cent. The production of large and medium-size tractors was up by 101.4 per cent, and that of power generating equipment was up by 92.9 per cent. The total output of motor vehicles reached 5,074,000, an increase of 14.2 per cent, of this total, the production of cars reached 2,314,000, up by 11.7 per cent.
The value-added of the high-tech industry was up 23.1 per cent over the previous year. Of the high-tech industry, the growth of telecommunication equipment, computers and other electronic equipment was 26.9 per cent. Of this total, the output of optical telecommunications facilities, program-controlled switchboards, mobile telephones and microcomputers rose by a range of 14.7 per cent to 40.3 per cent.
Among the industrial enterprises above designated size, the profits of State-owned and State-controlled enterprises stood at 531.2 billion yuan (US$64 billion), up by 42.5 per cent; that of collective enterprises was 51.2 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion), up by 31.3 per cent. The profits made by shareholding enterprises reached 544.8 billion yuan (US$65.6 billion), up by 39.4 per cent; that of foreign-invested enterprises and enterprises with investment from Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan stood at 345.5 billion yuan (US$41.6 billion), up 25.5 per cent, and that of the private enterprises was 123.7 billion yuan (US$14.9 billion), up 40.1 per cent.
In 2004, the value-added of construction enterprises in China was 957.2 billion yuan (US$115.3 billion), up 8.1 per cent over the previous year at comparable prices. The profits made by construction enterprises with qualification certificates through general contracts and specialized contracts reached 62.1 billion yuan (US$7.48 billion), up 19.5 per cent, with their taxes paid reaching 95.9 billion yuan (US$11.55 billion), up 26.4 per cent.
IV. Investment in Fixed Assets
China's completed investment in fixed assets in 2004 was 7,007.3 billion yuan (US$844 billion), up 25.8 per cent over the previous year, or 1.9 percentage points lower as compared with the growth in 2003. Of the total investment, that in urban areas was up 27.6 per cent, and that in rural areas grew 17.4 per cent.
In terms of investment in different areas, investment in eastern China was 4,024.2 billion yuan (US$485 billion), up 24.8 per cent; that in central China was 1,512.6 billion yuan (US$182 billion), up by 30.2 per cent and that in western China was 1,374.9 billion yuan (US$165.6 billion), up 26.6 per cent.
Of the investment in urban areas, the investment in the primary industry rose by 20.3 per cent as compared with a 19.6 per cent decline in 2003. Investment in the secondary industry grew 38.3 per cent, 8 percentage points lower as compared with that in the previous year, and that of the tertiary industry was up by 21.6 per cent, or 0.5 percentage points lower.
Of all projects over 5 million yuan worth of investment in urban areas, investment in the production of steel was up by 32.3 per cent, it was 63.9 percentage points lower as compared with that in the previous year; that in aluminum production was down 1.8 per cent, as compared with 86.6 per cent growth in the previous year. The investment in cement went up 43.3 per cent, or 70.1 percentage points lower; vehicles, 53.5 per cent, or 24.3 percentage points lower; textiles, 30.3 per cent, or 56.4 percentage points lower over the previous year.
In 2004, the investment in real estate development was 1,315.8 billion yuan (US$158 billion), up by 28.1 per cent. The total sales of commercial buildings for the whole year reached 1,037.6 billion yuan (US$125 billion), up 30.3 per cent. Of this total, the sales to individuals went up 30.0 per cent, accounting for 93.3 per cent of the total sales of commercial buildings.
Total completed investment in the Three Gorges Project stood at 111.4 billion yuan (US$13.42 billion), putting 11 power generators into operation with newly increased power generating capacity reaching 7.70 million kilowatts. The total completed investment in the Qinghai-Tibet railway was 19.8 billion yuan (US$2.38 billion), with the completed length of the railway extending to 743 kilometres. By the end of 2004, the piping work for the west-east natural gas transmission project was put into commercial operation. The eastern and central routes of the south-to-north water diversion project started with total completed investment in five sub-projects reaching 2.1 billion yuan (US$253 million). With the financial support from the central government, a total length of 150,000 kilometres of county and rural highways were reconstructed; difficulty in obtaining access to drinking water for about 50.20 million rural population was solved; a total number of 163 projects of the medical aid system were in place for emergent public health events, and another 1,296 projects of national disease prevention and control network were basically completed.
V. Domestic Trade
In 2004, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 5,395.0 billion yuan (US$650 billion), up 13.3 per cent over the previous year, or a real growth of 10.2 per cent if price factors were deducted. Of this total, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 3,557.3 billion yuan (US$428.5 billion), up 14.7 per cent, and the retail sales of consumer goods at and below county level was 1,837.7 billion yuan (US$221 billion), up 10.7 per cent. In terms of different sectors, the sales of the wholesale and retail industry reached 4,484.0 billion yuan (US$540 billion), up 12.5 per cent, the sales of the catering industry were 748.6 billion yuan (US$90.2 billion) , up 21.6 per cent, and the sales of other industries were 162.4 billion yuan (US$19.56 billion), up 1.5 per cent.
Of the total retail sales by wholesale and retail enterprises above their designated size, the sales of cultural and office goods were up 22.7 per cent; that of the telecommunication equipment were up 41.7 per cent; that of electric and electronic appliances for household use and audio-video equipment were up 13.7 per cent; that of building and decoration materials went up 27.1 per cent; that of furniture was up 21.8 per cent; that of food, beverages, tobacco and liquor grew by 17.9 per cent; that of clothing, shoes, hats, knitwear and textiles was up by 18.7 per cent; that of motor vehicles was up by 23.4 per cent and that of petroleum and related products was up 45.9 per cent.
VI. Foreign Economic Relations
The total value of import and export in 2004 reached US$1,154.8 billion, up 35.7 per cent over the previous year. Of this total, the value of export was US$593.4 billion, up 35.4 per cent, and the value of import was US$561.4 billion, up 36.0 per cent. China had a trade surplus of US$32.0 billion, an increase of US$6.5 billion as compared with that in the previous year.
Fast growth was recorded in imports and exports with major trade partners
The year 2004 witnessed the approval of the establishment of 43,664 foreign direct-invested enterprises in China, up 6.3 per cent over the previous year; contracted foreign capitals through foreign direct investment stood at US$153.5 billion, up 33.4 per cent, and the foreign capital actually utilized was US$60.6 billion, up 13.3 per cent.
In 2004, the accomplished business revenue through contracted overseas engineering projects was US$17.5 billion, up 26.0 per cent, and the business revenue through overseas labor contracts was US$3.8 billion, up 13.4 per cent.
VII. Transportation, Post, Telecommunications and Tourism
The value-added of the transportation, post and telecommunications sectors reached 777.7 billion yuan (US$93.7 billion) in 2004, up 14.9 per cent over the previous year.
The freight turnover by all means of transportation reached 6,669.8 billion ton-kilometres, up 23.8 per cent over the previous year. Of the total, the freight turnover by railways was 1,928.9 billion ton-kilometres, up 11.8 per cent; that by highways 759.6 billion ton-kilometres, up 7.0 per cent; that by waterways 3,897.3 billion ton-kilometres, up 35.7 per cent; that by civil aviation 7.2 billion ton-kilometres, up 24.0 per cent; and that by pipelines 76.8 billion ton-kilometres, up 3.9 per cent.
The passenger flow by all means of transportation reached 1,632.4 billion passenger-kilometres, up 18.2 per cent over the previous year, of which, passenger flow by railways was 571.2 billion passenger-kilometres, up 19.3 per cent; that by highways 876.5 billion passenger-kilometres, up 13.9 per cent; that by waterways 6.5 billion passenger-kilometres, up 3.3 per cent; and that by civil aviation 178.2 billion passenger-kilometres, up 41.1 per cent.
The volume of freight handled by ports throughout the country totalled 4 billion tons, up 21.3 per cent over the previous year, of which, freight for foreign trade accounted for 1.15 billion tons, up 18.4 per cent. Container shipping handled 61.5 million standard containers.
The total number of motor vehicles for civilian use reached 27.42 million by the end of 2004, up 15.0 per cent year-on-year, of which, that of private-owned vehicles was 13.65 million, up 12.0 per cent. The number of civilian cars was 9.2 million, of which, private cars accounted for 6 million.
The business transactions of postal and telecommunication services totalled 979.1 billion yuan (US$117.9 billion), up 34.9 per cent over the previous year. Of this total, postal services accounted for 56.6 billion yuan (US$6.82 billion), up 4.4 per cent; telecommunication services 922.5 billion yuan (US$111 billion), up 37.4 per cent. By the end of 2004, the total capacity of office exchanges reached 420 million gates, with 70.2 million newly installed exchanges. The year 2004 saw 49.7 million new telephone subscribers to bring the total number of telephone subscribers to 312.44 million at the end of the year. This included 210.85 million urban subscribers and 101.59 million rural subscribers. Mobile phone users numbered 334.83 million by the end of 2004, with 64.87 million new subscribers. In total, the number of telephone and mobile phone users reached 647.27 million, an increase of 114.57 million as compared with the end of 2003. On average, there were 51 telephones or mobile phones per 100 persons in China.
In 2004, a total of 109.04 million international visitors came to China for tourism, business or family reunions, an increase of 19 per cent year-on-year. Of this total, 16.93 million were foreigners, up 48.5 per cent; 92.11 million were compatriots from Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan, up 14.8 per cent. Of all international tourists, overnight visitors accounted for 41.76 million, up 26.7 per cent. Foreign exchange earnings from international tourism topped US$25.7 billion, up 47.9 per cent. A total of 28.85 million Chinese visitors went abroad, up 42.7 per cent. Of this total, 22.98 million were on private visits, a year-on-year rise of 55.2 per cent, or 79.7 per cent of all outgoing visitors. The year 2004 saw 1.1 billion domestic tourists, up 26.6 per cent. Revenue from domestic tourism totalled 471.1 billion yuan, up 36.9 per cent.
VIII. Banking, Security and Insurance
By the end of 2004, the broad money supply (M2) was 25.3 trillion yuan (US$3.05 trillion), reflecting a year-on-year increase of 14.6 per cent. Narrow money supply (M1) was 9.6 trillion yuan (US$1.156 trillion), up 13.6 per cent. Cash in circulation (M0) was 2.1 trillion yuan (US$253 billion), up 8.7 per cent. Savings deposited in renminbi and foreign currencies in all financial institutions totalled 25.3 trillion yuan (US$3.05 trillion) at the end of 2004, up 15.3 per cent. Loans in renminbi and foreign currencies by all financial institutions reached 18.9 trillion yuan (US$2.27 trillion), up 14.4 per cent.
Loans in renminbi by rural credit co-operatives stood at 1.9 trillion yuan (US$229 billion), an increase of 253.2 billion yuan (US$30.5 billion). Loan for consumption in renminbi by all financial institutions totalled 2 trillion yuan (US$240 billion), an increase of 432.7 billion yuan (US$52.05 billion), of which, the loan for individual housing was 1.6 trillion yuan (US$192 billion), an increase of 407.3 billion yuan (US$49 billion).
Funds raised through issuing stocks and share rights on the stock market were 151.1 billion yuan (US$18.2 billion), an increase of 15.3 billion yuan (US$1.84 billion) over the previous year. Of this total, 123 companies issued A shares (including newly issued and convertible loan stock) and another 23 companies issued A share rights, with 83.6 billion yuan (US$10.07 billion) of capital paid in, an increase of 1.6 billion yuan (US$192 million) over 2003. The issue of 28 B and H shares raised another 67.5 billion yuan (US$8.13 billion) worth of foreign capital, an increase of 13.7 billion yuan (US$1.65 billion). The number of listed companies (with A or B shares) on China's stock market rose from 1,287 at the end of 2003 to 1,377 at the end of 2004, worth 3,705.6 billion yuan (US$446.4 billion) in value, a fall of 12.7 per cent over the previous year.
The premium of domestic and foreign insurance companies totalled 431.8 billion yuan (US$52 billion), up 11.3 per cent over the previous year. Of this total, life insurance premium was 285.1 billion yuan (US$34.3 billion), health and casualty insurance premium 37.7 billion yuan (US$4.54 billion), and property insurance premium 109 billion yuan (US$13.13 billion). The insurance companies paid an indemnity of 100.4 billion yuan (US$12.1 billion), of which, life insurance indemnity was 30.8 billion yuan (US$3.71 billion), the health and casualty insurance indemnity was 12.9 billion yuan (US$1.55 billion), and the property insurance indemnity was 56.8 billion yuan (US$6.84 billion).
IX. Education, Science and Technology
In 2004, the country had an enrollment of 820,000 postgraduate students, including 326,000 new entrants, and 151,000 graduates. The enrollment of regular undergraduates was 13,335,000, including 4,473,000 new entrants, and 2,391,000 graduates. Vocational secondary schools of various types had an enrollment of 13,679,000 students, with 5,481,000 new entrants, and 3,510,000 students graduated. Regular senior secondary schools had 22,204,000 enrolled students, including 8,215,000 new entrants, and 5,469,000 graduates. Students enrolled in junior secondary schools totalled 64,750,000, including 20,782,000 new entrants, and 20,704,000 graduates. Regular primary schools had an enrollment of 112,462,000 students, including 17,470,000 new entrants, and 21,352,000 graduates. There were 372,000 students in special education schools, with 51,000 new entrants. Kindergartens accommodated 20,844,000 children.
The expenditure on research and development (R&D) activities in the whole country was 184.3 billion yuan (US$22.2 billion), up 19.7 per cent over 2003, accounting for 1.35 per cent of GDP. Of this total, 10.2 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion) was appropriated for basic researches. The number of professionals and technicians of all specializations working in State-owned enterprises and institutions stood at 27,163,000 at the end of the year. China implemented 824 projects under the National Key Technology Research and Development Program and 1,071 projects under the Hi-tech Research and Development Programme (863 Programme). A total of 333 demonstration projects were launched for the industrialization of the high-tech research outcomes. The year 2004 also saw the establishment of 10 new national engineering research centres and the initiation of 40 projects on updating key national laboratories. The country selected 53 priority enterprise technical centres in support of their innovation capability development. The number of validated enterprise technical centres at national level reached 332 by the end of the year. A total of 31,000 scientific research results were achieved at and above provincial or ministerial level. Some 354,000 patent applications were received from home and abroad, and 190,000 patents were authorized, reflecting a year-on-year rise of 14.7 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively. A total of 265,000 technology transfer contracts were signed, involving a transaction value of 133.4 billion yuan, up by 23 per cent. The country successfully launched eight satellites in the year.
By the end of 2004, there were altogether 18,983 institutions for the inspection of manufactured goods, including 263 national inspection centres. There were 169 institutions for certification of product quality and systems, which accumulatively certified products in 31,000 enterprises. A total of 4,098 authorized measurement institutions enforced compulsory inspection on 34 million measurement instruments, and 893 national standards were formulated or revised in the year, including 458 new standards. The country had 255 meteorological observatories with radar installations, 382 satellite cloud map receiving stations, 1,253 seismological monitoring stations and 30 remote monitoring network stations. The number of marine observation and monitoring spots reached 2,706. Mapping departments published 1,767 maps and 430 mapping books.
X. Culture, Public Health and Sports
At the end of 2004, there were 2,599 art-performing groups, 2,858 culture centres, 2,710 public libraries and 1,509 museums in China. There were 282 radio broadcasting stations, 314 television stations and 60 educational television stations throughout China. Subscribers to cable television programmes reached 114.7 million. Digital cable television service covered 30 cities in China with 1.22 million subscribers. The radio broadcasting coverage rate was 94.1 per cent and the television broadcasting coverage rate was 95.3 per cent. The country produced 212 feature films, 44 science, educational, documentary and cartoon films. A total of 25.77 billion copies of national and provincial newspapers and 2.69 billion copies of magazines were issued, and 6.44 billion copies of books published. There were 3,982 archives in China and 56.26 million documents were made accessible to the public.
By the end of 2004, there were 277,000 health care institutions in China, including 62,000 general hospitals and health care stations, 3,000 maternal and child health-care institutions and 1,718 specialized health institutions. General hospitals and health care institutions in China had a total of 3,004,000 beds. There were 4,343,000 health workers in China, including 1,892,000 practicing doctors and assistant doctors and 1,286,000 registered nurses. China registered 3,590 epidemic/disease prevention centers and stations employing 160,000 health workers, and 1,270 health monitoring institutions employing 27,000 health workers. There were 44,000 rural health care institutions, possessing 674,000 beds and employing 898,000 health workers. A total of 333 counties/cities conducted experiments on new joint medical care system in rural areas, covering approximately 106.91 million of rural population, and attracting 80.4 million farmers to the system.
In 2004, Chinese athletes won 106 world championships in 27 sports. Seven athletes and two teams broke 16 world records on 16 occasions. With 32 gold medals, 17 silver medals and 14 bronze medals, China ranked second in terms of both the number of gold medals and the total number of medals at the Athens Olympics. In the Athens Special Olympics for the Disabled, Chinese athletes achieved the best result in history with 63 gold, 46 silver and 32 bronze medals, ranking first in terms of both the number of gold medals and the total number of medals.The national Keep-Fit Programme witnessed vigorous development.
XI. Population, People's Life and Social Security
At the end of 2004, the total population of China was 1,299.88 million. The year 2004 saw 15.93 million births, a crude birth rate of 12.29 per thousand, and 8.32 million deaths, a crude death rate of 6.42 per thousand. The net population growth in 2004 was 7.61 million, representing a natural growth rate of 5.87 per thousand, down by 0.014 percentage points.
In 2004, the per capita annual net income of rural households was 2,936 yuan (US$353). It registered the highest growth since 1997 with a real increase of 6.8 per cent after price factors were deducted. The per capita disposable income of urban households was 9,422 yuan (US$1,135), a real increase of 7.7 per cent. The Engel coefficients (which refers to the proportion of expenditure on food to the total expenditure of households) were 47.2 per cent for rural households and 37.7 per cent for urban households. The population in absolute poverty in rural areas (with annual per capita net income below 668 yuan) was 26.1 million at the end of 2004, a decline of 2.9 million over the previous year. The low-income population in rural areas (with annual per capita net income between 669 and 924 yuan) was 49.77 million, a decline of 6.4 million.
By the end of 2004, 163.42 million people participated in the basic pension programs, a year-on-year increase of 8.36 million. Among them, 122.42 million were staff and workers, and 41 million were retirees. A total of 105.84 million people participated in unemployment insurance programmes, an increase of 2.11 million. The population covered by basic health insurance programmes was 123.86 million, a year-on-year increase of 14.84 million. Among them, 90.33 million were staff and workers, and 33.53 million were retirees. All of the 37.7 million enterprise retirees who participated in basic pension programmes received full pensions on time by the end of the year. There were still 1.53 million laid-off workers from State-owned enterprises at the end of 2004. All of the laid-off workers in re-employment centres received their full subsistence allowances on time, and their social security payments were paid by the centres. The number of people who received unemployment insurance payment stood at 4.19 million, maintaining the same level as the previous year. A total of 22.01 million urban residents received the government minimum living allowance, 460,000 less than the previous year.
Social welfare institutions of various types possessed 1,330,000 beds by the end of 2004, accommodating 1,023,000 inmates. Some 174,000 community service facilities in urban areas were set up, including 9,888 integrated community service centres. In 2004, China sold 22.64 billion yuan (US$2.72 billion) worth of social welfare lottery tickets, raising about 7.92 billion yuan (US$954 million) of social welfare funds. Another 1.42 billion yuan (US$171 million) were received from direct donations.
XII. Resources and Environment
With the implementation of scientific concept of development strategy, 2004 saw greater input in resources and environment protection. Some progress was made in effective utilization of resources and protection of environment. Nevertheless, there was increasing pressure on the environment as high consumption and huge waste of resources became increasingly noticeable.
Achievement was made in strengthening land resource management. Administration and consolidation of land market revealed unreported use of 148,000 hectares of farmland for construction purpose in the past. The whole year saw 145,000 hectares of farmland appropriated for actual construction, down 37.0 per cent over the previous year. Some 63,000 hectares of cultivated land was destroyed by disasters. A total of 733,000 hectares of farmland was converted into land for ecological preservation. Structural adjustment in agriculture production led to a reduction of 205,000 hectares of cultivated land. On the other hand, land reclamation and re-development projects added over 346,000 hectares of cultivated land. As a result, 2004 saw a net reduction of 800,000 hectares of cultivated land.
Per capita water resources were 2,040 cubic metres in 2004, down 4.0 per cent compared with 2003. The annual average precipitation was 620 millimetres, down 2.8 per cent. The 422 large reservoirs in China stored 175.8 billion cubic metres of water at the end of 2004, or 7 billion cubic metres more than that at the end of 2003. Total water consumption in 2004 was 550 billion cubic metres, up 3.4 per cent over the previous year, of which, water consumption for municipal use rose by 2.2 per cent; for industrial use, up by 2.8 per cent; and for agricultural use, up by 3.8 per cent. Per capita water consumption was 423 cubic metres on average, up by 3.0 per cent. There were 79 cities facing the shortage of water. Some 23.4 million people and 13 million large domestic animals experienced temporary difficulty in shortage of drinking water.
The sixth enumeration of the nation's forest resources (1999-2003) demonstrated that the total forest area was 175 million hectares, and the forest coverage rate was 18.21 per cent. The total standing stock volume was 13.62 billion cubic metres, and the stock volume of the forest was 12.46 billion cubic metres.
National land and resources surveys and geological explorations discovered a total of 205 new mineral deposits in large or medium size, including 24 energy mineral deposits, 66 metal mines, 113 non-metal mines and two water or gas minerals deposits. Increased reserves were found for 56 minerals, including 1,098 million tons of crude oil, 380.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 9,654 million tons of coal.
Preliminary estimation indicated that the total energy consumption in 2004 amounted to 1,970 million tons of standard coal equivalent, up by 15.2 per cent over 2003. Of this total, the consumption of coal was 1,870 million tons, up 14.4 per cent, the consumption of crude oil was 290 million tons, up 16.8 per cent, that of natural gas 41.5 billion cubic metres, up 18.5 per cent, that of hydroelectric power 328 billion kilo-watt hours, up 15.6 per cent, and that of nuclear power 50.1 billion kilo-watt hours, up 15.6 per cent. The consumption of major raw materials included 310 million tons of rolled steel, up 15.1 per cent; 12.84 million tons of aluminum oxide, up 9.7 per cent; and 960 million tons of cement, up 12.4 per cent. Energy consumption for producing 10,000 yuan worth of GDP was 1.58 tons of standard coal equivalent, up 5.3 per cent.
Monitoring of water quality on 413 sections of the seven major water systems in China showed that 41.6 per cent of sections satisfied the national quality standard of Grade III for surface water, up 3.5 percentage points over the previous year; 30.5 per cent met the quality of Grade IV or V, down by 1.7 percentage points; and 27.9 per cent were below Grade V, down by 1.8 percentage points. Pearl River and Yangtze River proved good water quality whereas the water quality in Haihe River, Liaohe River, Yellow River, Huaihe River and Songhuajiang River was relatively poor.
Monitoring of marine water quality at 246 offshore monitoring stations indicated that the marine water met the national quality standard Grade I and II in 49.6 per cent of stations, maintaining the same level as in the previous year; it met Grade III in 15.4 per cent of the stations, down by 4.4 per cent; and marine water with Grade IV or inferior was found in 35.0 per cent of stations, up by 5 percentage points. A total of 169,000 square kilometres of seawater did not meet the quality standard of clean seawater, up by 19.0 per cent over the previous year. Of this total, seriously polluted sea area accounted for 32,000 square kilometres. Monitoring in 15 marine ecology monitoring zones showed that major thalassic, estuarine and wetlands ecosystem were in quasi-healthy or unhealthy conditions.
The daily municipal sewage treatment capacity reached 74.02 million cube metres, up 11.7 per cent. The central heating areas amounted to 2.05 billion square metres, up 8.4 per cent. Forest coverage rate in built-up areas reached 32.3 per cent, up 1.1 percentage points. Municipal sewage treatment rate was 43.6 per cent, up 1.2 percentage points. In the 319 monitored cities, 132 cities had their air quality reach standard Grade II, accounting for 41.4 per cent of all the monitored cities, the same as in the previous year; 119 cities attained Grade III, accounting for 37.3 per cent of the total, up by 5.5 per cent over the previous year. Air quality in 68 cities was inferior to Grade III, accounting for 21.3 per cent of the total monitored, or down 5.5 per cent. In the 328 cities under road noise monitoring, 2.1 per cent of cities had serious noise pollution, 5.2 per cent had medium noise pollution and 9.1 per cent had light noise pollution.
Steady progress was made in ecologic environment construction. Water break has not occurred for the fifth consecutive year on the Yellow River. Contingent water transmission has been made for 3 consecutive years from Tarim River to Taitema Lake in its lower reaches.
Heihe River transmitted water for 6 times to East Juyanhai Lake. The total afforested area in 2004 was 7,167,000 hectares. By the end of 2004, China had approved the establishment of 166 national ecological demonstration zones, and 2,194 natural reserves, of which, 226 national natural reserves. The area of natural reserves totalled 148,226,000 hectares, accounting for 14.8 per cent of surface area of China. There were 85 national geological parks, and 27 new geological relics preservation zones were set up. Some 49,000 square kilometres of soil were conserved through comprehensive anti-erosion projects. And a total of 110,000 square kilometres were closed for nurturing and protection in areas under anti-erosion projects.
In 2004, floods, water-logging and droughts caused 97.5 billion yuan (US$11.7 billion) worth of direct economic losses, a decrease of 50.0 per cent. The death toll in floods and storms in coastal areas was 1,282. Natural disasters hit 37,106,000 hectares of crops, down by 31.8 per cent over the previous year, of which, 4.36 million hectares of crops were demolished, down by 49.0 per cent. Economic losses directly caused by marine-related disasters totalled 5.4 billion yuan (US$650 million), down 32.6 per cent. The occurrence of 96 red tides in the year (23 less as compared with in 2003) hit an accumulative area of 26,630 square kilometers, up 83.0 per cent. China registered 15,954 geological disasters of various types in the year, claiming 697 lives and causing a direct economic loss of 2.06 billion yuan. The country recorded 22 earthquakes with magnitude 5 and over on the Richter scale, causing 8 deaths and a direct economic losses of 950 million yuan. The year 2004 witnessed 568,000 traffic accidents, killing 99,000 people, injuring 452,000 and causing a direct property loss of 2.77 billion yuan.
(National Bureau of Statistics of China)
