Around 48 million Chinese live below China's domestic poverty line, accounting for 3.7 %
of the total population. Based on international standards, 135 million
Chinese live below the general poverty line, or 10% of the population.
The numbers come from the "Report of the Development of an Overall
Well-off Society (2006)," China's first blue book to be published on
building an overall well off society, Beijing Evening News reports.
The report reveals there are 26 million needy people in China's
countryside. Another 22 million living in cities subsist below minimum subsistence levels , or the
poverty line. These 48 million people account for 3.7% of the total
population in China.
According to international standards, however, the needy refer to those
whose personal daily expenses average below $1.
The World Bank estimates about 135 million of Chinese live below the
international poverty line. These people are the key group China should
show concern for in building an overall well-off society.