China Has Secured Continuous Progress in All Social Programs

China has vigorously worked to develop all social programs, securing continuous progress in promoting social development. It has significantly improved education levels across society, steadily enhanced its public cultural service capacity, gradually improved the healthcare system, and registered remarkable results in competitive sports and public fitness. 

Educational standards have continued to rise, ensuring faster progress in turning China’s demographic dividend into a talent dividend 

When the PRC was first established, over 80 percent of China’s population was illiterate. Thanks to the steady implementation of strategies to prioritize education, China’s overall level of educational development is now on par with upper-middle-income countries. In 2023, the gross enrollment rate for preschool education reached 91.1%, the student retention rate for nine-year compulsory education stood at 95.7%, and the gross enrollment rate of senior secondary education reached 91.8%. 

More high-level talent is also being trained at a faster rate. In 2023, China’s gross enrollment rate in higher education exceeded 60%, the highest in the world. The average length of schooling for the working-age population has now increased to 11.05 years.

Cultural programs have flourished, and China’s cultural soft power has steadily increased

In seven and a half decades, China has gradually improved its cultural service facilities, providing strong support to meet people’s cultural needs. By the end of 2023, the number of public libraries and registered museums nationwide had increased 59-fold and 325-fold, respectively, compared to 1949; and the annual publication figures for all types of books had exceeded 10 billion copies for the year. 

The cultural industry has flourished, producing countless outstanding artistic works, while Chinese culture’s international influence has also continued to rise. By 2022, the value added of cultural and related industries had increased by 0.77 percentage points as a share of GDP compared to 2013. Total imports and exports of cultural products increased from US$88.8 billion in 2012 to US$162.2 billion in 2023.

Continuous progress has been made in improving medical and health programs and public health levels

Over the past 75 years, China has enriched its medical resources and gradually established a sound healthcare system that effectively ensures access to basic medical services for all Chinese people. By the end of 2023, there were 1.07 million medical and health institutions nationwide, along with 12.49 million health professionals.

Since 2012, reform of the medical and health system has been deepened, and the health of the general population has improved. By the end of 2023, 1.334 billion people were enrolled in the basic medical insurance scheme nationwide. Since 2018, the rate of coverage has held steady at over 95%. In 2020, life expectancy reached 77.93 years, an increase of 43 years compared to 1949. This figure is higher than the average for upper-middle-income countries.

Stellar progress has been made in sports and fitness programs, with competitive and mass sports improving in tandem 

Since the 1950s, China’s sports sector has progressed from a state of underdevelopment to all-round flourishing, achieving repeated success in competitive sports and making major strides in mass sports. In 1984, China participated in the Summer Olympics for the first time and claimed its first gold medal. In 2008, when Beijing successfully hosted the 29th Summer Olympic Games, China’s athletic delegation topped the gold medal table for the first time. In 2022, at the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese team achieved new records for both gold medals and total medals. 

Between 1949 and 2023, Chinese athletes won a total of 3,913 world championships. The number of public fitness facilities and services has also increased continuously. By the end of 2023, China had a total of 4.593 million sports venues nationwide, covering a total area of 4.07 billion square meters.

Over the past 75 years of momentous development, China has secured remarkable achievements. The key to these achievements lies in resolutely following the CPC’s overall leadership, applying a people-centered approach, fully respecting the principal position and pioneering spirit of the people, firmly adhering to the path of Chinese socialism, remaining committed to furthering reform and opening up, regarding development as the top priority, and working constantly to release and develop advanced productive forces. All of this has enabled us to gradually turn people’s aspirations for a better life into a tangible reality. 

Editor: Yi Xiaowei

(Excerpts from “Opening a New Chapter After 75 Years of Development” by the CPC Leadership Group of the National Bureau of Statistics, Qiushi Journal, English edition, No. 6, 2024)