(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-24 20:15

China's working population, men in the 16-59 year age bracket and women in the 16-54 age bracket, will peak at 932 million by 2013 and stand at around 930 million by 2020, the CFPA said, noting finding enough jobs for them is an important and arduous task.

People aged above 60 now accounted for more than 11 percent of the total population and will grow to 16.1 percent by 2020, which means the government will have to support 234 million aged people by that time and meet serious challenges in social security, social welfare and service, the CFPA said.

It said China had 147 million migrant workers by 2005 and will have 300 million more from the rural areas by 2020. The huge forces of migrant workers have already constituted challenges to the country's infrastructural facilities, resources and the government's public administration and service capabilities, the CFPA said.

By the end of 2005, the CFPA said, rural people that didn't have sufficient food and clothing numbered 23.65 million, while rural people who had just passed this line but still earned very low income numbered 40.67 million. In the Tenth Five-year Plan period (2001-2005), 22 million urban residents relied on government financial aid to sustain basic living.

In addition, 40 million farmers have lost their farmland in land development projects and the number is growing at a rate of 3 million a year. Some of these people may easily drift into poverty.

The CEPA also noted that China's per capita fresh water, arable land, forest, minerals and some other important resources are all lower than the world's average level.

      1   2     

      1   2