Poverty incidence in China's rural areas dropped by 67 million from 2010 to 2012, according to a recent official government census as reported by the State Council last Jan. 1, 2014.
Key indicators pointed to a significant decline in per capita poverty incidence. The annualized per capita net income in the major poverty-stricken counties have increased from 3,273 yuan or 537 U.S. dollars to 4,602 yuan or 753 U.S. dollars for a period of two years from 2010 to 2012. This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 18.6 percent.
According to a report of the director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, Liu Yongfu, the decrease in poverty incidence in China’s rural areas is notable. Liu presented his official report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress during its bimonthly session on Dec. 23 to 29 last year.
One crucial factor for the significant decrease of poverty incidence is the improvement of infrastructure. For instance, a new highway was formally opened last October 2013, linking Medog County in Tibet to other major thoroughfares in China. More roads mean greater accessibility to trade and commerce.
Another factor for the improving socio-economic situation in the poverty-stricken areas is the progress in rural education. It is a praiseworthy achievement on the part of the government to have achieved almost universal education for children ages 7 to 15 at the end of 2012. More than 97 percent of children under that age group were able to attend school.
The Chinese government is right on target based on its development-oriented poverty alleviation program for the rural areas. The program is a nine-year development program spanning the years 2011 to 2020. The original objective was to raise the poverty threshold on a per capita annual net income to 2,300 yuan. At the inception of the poverty alleviation program in 2011, the central government had allocated 227 billion yuan as poverty relief fund. This was a 40.4 percent increase on the 2010 allocation.
By the year 2012, the allocation further increased by 32 percent, to 300 billion yuan.