#158 Improvement in China Living Standards

Summary:

The Chinese people’s lives have been greatly improved. A persevering effort has provided the Chinese people with adequate food and clothing, and made it possible for them to live decent lives and move towards a moderately prosperous society in all respects (see Table 2). China’s rural population living under the current poverty line decreased from 770 million in 1978 to 16.6 million in 2018, and China’s rural poverty incidence dropped from 97.5 percent to 1.7 percent, down by 95.8 percentage points (see Figure 1). This is an outstanding achievement in the history of poverty reduction.

The source of this information is from the government: "China and the World in the New Era, The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China, September 2019, pp. 6-8." This data should be used with caution.