Chapter 3 Actions and Achievements in the Major Fields of Sustainable Development Section 1 Population I. Background 3.1 China's population reached 1.224 billion at the end of 1996 (not including the populations of Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). This huge population, although constituting a gigantic manpower supply for sustainable social and economic development, exerts a heavy pressure on resources and the environment. China faces its third baby boom in the 1990s. It is estimated that the population will grow to 1.3 billion by the year 2000 and to 1.5-1.6 billion by the middle of the next century. Therefore, controlling population growth and improving the standards of living are important strategic tasks for China's sustainable development. Box 3-1 Forecast of China's Population The total population of China in the middle of the next century will not exceed 1.6 billion and the population growth will be 0% on the condition that the fertility level of women of child-bearing age is 2. This forecast is the result of a comprehensive analysis by population research institutes. The ageing process of the population has accelerated. In 2001, in excess of 7% of the population will be over 65 years old. The median age of the population will be more than 30 years old. This means that China has entered a period of population ageing. Until the year 2040, there will be one aged person (exceeding 65 years) in every five people. Labour resources in China are abundant. From 1998, the suitable labour pool (individuals between the ages of 15 and 59) will exceed 800 million individuals for a long time. In the year 2020, it will reach its peak of 950 million people. However, the dependent population ratio is continuously growing: it will reach 60% in the year 2020, exceed 70% in the year 2030, and reach 80% in the year 2050.   II. Actions and Achievements 3.2 Family planning - China's basic state policy Family planning is an important strategic task for realising sustainable development As early as 1982, the Chinese Government put family planning, population control, and improvement in the quality of the population in its basic state policy and included these in the long-term plans for national economic and social development. In the 1990s, especially since the UNCED, the Chinese Government has, based on China's national conditions, constantly improved policies and plans on family planning, adopted integrated approaches for addressing population issues, and made great efforts to reduce the birth rate. Meanwhile, family planning was combined with development, poverty alleviation, educational promotion, women's status elevation, woman and infant medical care, social security development, rational development and utilisation of resources, and harmonious family establishment. The government also offers guidance and services to families, especially poor families who are willing to follow the family planning programs, in order to develop and improve production, increase income, and improve living standards. Effective control of the rapid population growth In 1996, the national human fertility was 1.698%, a reduction of 0.408% compared with 2.106%in 1990. The natural population growth rate was 1.042%in 1996, a reduction of 0.397%compared with 1.439% in 1990. The total fertility rate of child-bearing age women has dropped to 2. According to data from the United Nations, China's fertility is noticeably lower than the average of other developing countries. Adequately safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of women and children The Chinese Government pays great attention to the people's rights of reproduction and their reproductive health, and has worked to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of women and children through legislation. Educational activities are carried out throughout the country on such topics as contraception, sterilisation, good bearing and upbringing, and reproductive care. Efforts have been made to improve the quality of reproductive medical services. Demonstrations on offering high-quality family planning service have been performed in some regions so that people of child-bearing age may choose contraception or sterilisation measures on an informed basis and in a responsible manner. By 1996, more than 200 million child-bearing age people had taken contraception measures. The integrated contraception rate among married women is more than 80%. 3.3 Improvement in urban residents' health A medical service and family planning network has been developed in China. From 1991, China began to reform its medical insurance system for urban workers by combining social management with individual accounting. At the same time, the cooperative medical system has been developed and improved. At present, the average life expectancy of the Chinese people is 70, the infant mortality has dropped below 3.14%, the pregnant and lying-in women mortality is 0.0619% , and the planned children vaccination rate is 85% (using towns as the statistical unit). All the above statistics serve to illustrate that some major indices of people's sanitation and health of China are advanced in comparison to those countries at a similar economic development level. 3.4 General improvement of the people's education level Complete implementation of 9-year compulsory education The enrolment rate of school age children in China has greatly increased. The 1996 enrolment rate of school-aged children soared to 98.8%, the enrolment rate of middle-school aged children rose to 82.4%, and the percentage of illiterate and semi-illiterate people dropped from 22.27% in 1990 to 16.48% in 1996. Active development of vocational education In the past ten years, China has seen rapid development in vocational education. By 1996, there were 10.1 million students attending various vocational schools of the high-school level, and there were more middle-school graduates attending vocational schools than high-schools. In recent years, more than 50 million people have received vocational technical training each year. Moderate development of higher education China has established a complete higher education system for both youths and adults. By 1996, there were over 2170 institutions of higher education (1032 for youth, 1138 for adults) with 5.675 million registered students. This was a 52.2% increase from the 3.729 million students registered in 1990. Box 3-2 The Hope Project The Hope Project is a public welfare project aimed at promoting the development of basic education and advancing social civilisation by mobilising all the forces in society. The purpose of the project is to mobilise domestic and foreign financial resources in a bid to establish a Hope Project fund which will be used to help those dropout students who are living in destitution to return to school, to improve the school facilities in the poor regions, and to promote the development of basic education in poverty-stricken areas. The main items of the project are: to offer stipends to school-age children in poor areas of the countryside who cannot go to school because of poverty, have dropped out of school, or will be forced to do so, so that they will be able to cover the book and notebook fees and at least finish primary school education; to establish a development fund for Hope primary school construction, which is designed to sponsor the rebuilding of those primary school houses in dangerous condition or the construction of new buildings for primary schools in poor areas; to donate Hope libraries, recreational and sports apparatus, and teaching facilities to the rural primary schools in poor areas; to establish a Hope Project fund for teacher training for the purpose of upgrading the comprehensive quality of the Hope school teachers; and to establish an award fund for the Hope Project Gardener Award. Since the initiation of the Hope Project in October of 1989, the foundation has received donations worth RMB 800 million yuan from both home and abroad, 1.25 million dropout children in poor regions have been subsidised, and 2704 primary schools have been sponsored by the project. Picture 3-1 Beijing Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra - Composed of Primary School Students with an Average Age of 10   3.5 Gradual establishment of a comprehensive old-age pension system and guarantees of women's rights and interests In order to solve the problems caused by population ageing, the Chinese Government is accelerating establishment of an endowment and medical insurance system for elderly people which is characterised by social provision, support from their children, self-reliance, and mutual supplement. Meanwhile, laws have been formulated and promulgated to foster the social custom of respecting older people. Services of many kinds are rendered to seniors, including the establishment of senior-aid institutions, such as elderly community service networks and apartments for the elderly. The "Law of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Guarantee of the Rights and Interests of Women " has been put into effect so as to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of women in education, employment, social participation, marriage, and family matters. In 1995, the Chinese urban female adult enjoyed an average of 9.97 years of schooling. Their illiteracy and semi-literacy rate was only 2.07%. Among the women living in rural areas, 8.91% have a high school education, 26.62% have attended middle-school, and 27.91% have only attended primary school. The illiteracy and semi-literacy rate for rural women is 36.58%. Picture 3-2 The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing,1995) - A Corner at the NGO Forum Box 3-3 The Re-Employment Project The reforms in industry have resulted in a considerable number of workers that are temporarily out of work or waiting for new assignment. In view of this, the governments at all levels in China have launched the nation-wide "Re-Employment Project" to expand new fields and new channels for employment by granting policy preferences and offering job-hunting services, with key efforts made towards the workers who have lost their job for over half a year and live in difficulties, such as organising self-help production which allows them to at least satisfy their basic needs. Under the Re-Employment Project, over two million unemployed workers found new jobs in 1996.     Text Browser Utilities: [ACCA21 Home Page, National Report on Sustainable Development Home Page, Back, Next] For more information about ACCA21 contact: web@acca21.org.cn Address: 109 Wanquanhe Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100089, People's Republic of China Telephone: +86-10-82636193, +86-10-82634400 Ext.2401 Fax: +86-10-82636192