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Press Release 98/13

FIRST RESULTS OF AGRICULTURAL CENSUS IN CHINA RELEASED

Rome, 26 February -- China continues to be a predominantly rural country, despite the rapid growth and structural transformation of its economy in the recent past, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today during a presentation of the preliminary results of the first agricultural census in China.

China currently has an estimated population of 1,2 billion people. According to the new census, 561 million people are economically active in rural areas, representing about 80 percent of the officially published total number of 697 million economically active people.

Moreover, of the 561 million people, three quarters belong to so-called agricultural households.

"No doubt, the relative weight of agriculture in the rural economy has declined following the rapid development of non-agricultural activities in the rural areas," said Hartwig de Haen, FAO Assistant Director-General. "Still, agriculture continues to be the primary source of the livelihood for such a high share of China's population, that the development of agriculture will continue to be very important for food security and poverty elimination. The census provides us with a more accurate picture of Chinese agriculture than it was known before".

The 561 million people, who according to the census are employed in rural areas, are 24 percent or 108 million people more than the previously estimated 453 million rural people. "Even more important is," de Haen said, "that the differences between the new and the previously used data vary widely among regions. They range from minor differences of under 10% in Guangdong and Zhejiang to very large ones of over 50% in Xinjiang, Liaoning and Heilongjiang. This underlines the importance of the census for the formulation of regional development policies."

Considering the geographic differences, the proportion of people working in non-agricultural activities in rural areas is higher in the more developed Eastern parts of the country (33.5 percent) than in the Western Area (15.6 percent).

"Recent international research on China's food and agriculture prospects has been hampered by uncertainties concerning data, foremost among them those on cultivated area and meat production and consumption," de Haen said. "The international community is eagerly looking forward to the release of this information which will provide a firmer basis than available so far for exploring what the future holds for the food security of China and the world as a whole."

The Chinese government decided ten years ago to conduct its first National Agricultural Census. Around seven million trained counters interviewed over 214 million households in more than 740 000 villages. The national costs amounted to 1.65 billion Yuan (around $195 million).

In addition, the Italian government has contributed $16,4 million towards the census, through projects implemented by FAO for technical assistance, the training of statisticians, fellowships and office equipment.

Contact John Riddle at (396) 5705-3259, or john riddle@fao.org for further information.