General Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP)

GDP for 2005 was 647.361 billion yuan, up 11.6% from the previous year. The per capita GDP stood at 10,366 yuan.

GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)

The primary industry yielded a value added of 125.498 billion yuan, 5.7% more than that of the previous year; the secondary industry, 260.457 billion yuan, a growth of 13.9%; the tertiary industry, 261.406 billion yuan, a growth of 11.8%. The proportion of the three sectors is 19.4: 40.2: 40.4.

Revenue

Provincial revenue was 73.855 billion yuan, an increase of 20.6% over the previous year. Provincial expenditure was 86.565 billion yuan, an increase of 20.31%.

Consumer price index (CPI)

CPI was up 2.3% from the previous year.

Investment in fixed assets

Fixed asset investment was valued at 254.006 billion yuan, up by 28.2% from the previous year.

Major Industries

Agriculture

In 2005, the province's total grain output was 28.565 million tons, an increase of 1.7% from the previous year.

Industry

The industrial added value totaled 219.991 billion yuan, an increase of 15.3%.

High-tech

The added value from high-tech industries totaled 47.293 billion yuan, up 21.8%.

Construction

Its added value was 40.466 billion yuan, up 6.0%.

Transportation

Freight carried by various means of transport during the year amounted to a total of 165.71 billion ton-kilometers, 7.3% up from the previous year. Passengers carried by various means of transport numbered 102.345 billion person-kilometers during the year, up 5.3%.

Postal and telecommunications services

The annual turnover of postal and telecom operations totaled 36.875 billion yuan, 36.4% up from the previous year. Of this amount, 34.646 billion yuan were from the telecom sector, 38.0% up from the previous year.

At the end of 2005, the number of fixed line subscribers reached 12.15 million, an increase of 1.28 million from the 2004 figure; and the number of mobile phone subscribers reached 12.49 million, an increase of 2.26 million. The Internet users numbered 2.31 million.

Retail

The annual turnover from retail sales reached 245.912 billion yuan, an increase of 14.4% from the previous year.

Tourism

Revenue from tourism totaled 45.357 billion yuan, up by 22.1%.

Continued Effects of Market Reform

Imports & exports

The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$6.005 billion, an increase of 10.4% from the previous year. Of this amount, US$3.747 was from exports, up 20.9%.

Economic and technological cooperation

Overseas project and labor contracts signed during the year were valued at US$865 million, up 40.8% from the previous year. Business turnover for the year totaled US$559 million, an increase of 20.9%.

Foreign investment

Foreign direct investment realized in monetary terms was US$2.072 million. By the end of 2005, 38 of the top 500 companies in the world had set up businesses in the province.

Social Undertakings

Science and technology

In 2005 a total of 1,036 achievements in scientific research and technological development were made in the province. The R & D expenditure for the year was 4.5 billion yuan, accounting for 0.7% of the province's GDP. A total of 19,437 technological contracts were signed, they were valued at 4.174 billion yuan.

Education

There were 93 institutions of higher learning in the province at the end of 2005, which enrolled a total of 250,800 students during the year.

Culture

The province had a total of 93 professional performing organizations, 125 cultural centers, 120 public libraries, and 72 museums at the end of the year.

About 82.47% and 92.42% of the provincial population respectively had access to various radio and TV programs. The cable TV subscribers numbered 4.29 million at the year-end.

The "Super Girls" program initiated by the Hunan Satellite TV during the year made a great impact on the Chinese society.

Public health

There were a total of 4,052 medical and healthcare institutions provided with 149,000 beds and staffed with 230,000 medical professionals and technicians at the year-end.

Sports

At the year-end, there were all together 29,338 sports facilities in the province, including 140 stadiums and gymnasiums and 19,135 playgrounds.

Poverty relief

A special relief fund of 770 million yuan was spent and lifted 200,000 people out of poverty. 1,069 drinking water related projects were accomplished during the year, providing a population of 121,000 with easier access to drinking water. About 1.75 million primary and middle school students from poor families were exempt from tuitions fees.

Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards

Population

The birth rate in 2005 was 11.9‰, while the mortality rate was 6.75‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 5.15‰. At the end of the year, the total population stood at 67.321 million, an increase of 344,000 from the 2004 figure.

Employment

The employed population stood at 38.018 million at the end of 2005, an increase of 575,600 from the previous year-end. A total of 342,200 laid-off workers got reemployed during the year.

Registered unemployment rate

The registered urban unemployment rate was 4.3%.

Social security

In 2005, insurance plans for endowments, unemployment and medical treatment covered a population of 6.82 million, 3.88 million and 5.02 million respectively. A total of 1.157 billion yuan of minimum living allowances were distributed among the needy urban residents.

Residents' income

The disposable income of urban residents was 9,524 yuan per capita, up 8.2% from 2004. Rural residents' per capita net income was 3,118 yuan, a growth of 7.2% from the previous year.

Residents' consumption

Urban residents' per capita expenditure was 7,505 yuan, up 9.0% from the previous year while that of rural residents was 2,756 yuan, up 8.5%.

Geography and Natural Conditions

Elevation extremes

The land in Hunan generally slopes from the east, south and west towards the north like the shape of a horse's hoof. Hunan is surrounded with mountains on three sides: Mufu and Luoxiao mountains in the east, Nanling Mountain in the south, and Wuling and Xuefeng mountain in the west. The northern part of the province is the Dongting Lake Plain, and central Hunan has wide areas of low hills, basins and valleys.

Among the total area of Hunan, mountainous regions account for 51.2%, while basins, plains and hilly areas account for 13.9%, 13.1% and 15.4% respectively. Areas below 50 meters altitude form 9.9% of the total, while areas above 1,000 meters account for 4.3%. The majority of Hunan Province lies at altitudes between 100 meters and 800 meters.

Climate

Hunan has a humid continental and subtropical monsoon climate. It has average annual sunshine of 1,300-1,800 hours, annual average temperature is 16°C-18°C, a frost-free period of 260-310 days, and a mean annual precipitation of 1,200-1,700 mm.

Its climate has three characteristics: first, it has abundant sunshine, heat and water resources, and they reach their peak synchronously. During the period from April to October, the total radiation amount is 70-76% of the whole year, and rainfall accounts for 68-84% of the total. Second, there are distinct seasonal climate changes, with a cold winter and hot summer. The temperature always changes in spring, but always declines abruptly in the autumn. There is much rainfall in spring and summer, while drought always appears in autumn and winter. Third, areas with an abruptly changeable climate are surrounded by mountains in three directions, especially in the mountainous regions in west and south Hunan.

Natural resources

Land:
The year saw a reduction of 492 hectares of cultivated land because of various reasons. The total amount of farmland stood at 3.36 million hectares.

Waters:
The province has a complete water system. Dongting Lake in northern Hunan, the second largest fresh water lake in China, has a water area of 2,691 square km. It takes the waters of the Xiangjiang River, Zishui River, Yuanjiang River and Lishui River from the southwest, and then flows into the Yangtze River at Chenglingji.

Xiangjiang River, Zishui River, Yuanjiang River and Lishui River have a total waterway length of 2,200 km in Hunan, with nearly 5,000 tributaries.

The per capita amount of water resources was 2,105 cubic meters. The total water storage in large reservoirs was 11.1 billion cubic meters at the end of 2005.

Minerals:
A land and geological survey conducted within the province in 2005 found 11 new mines, with six minerals having proven reserves. The lead and zinc deposits amounted to 64,100 tons and coal deposits amounted to 6.54 million tons.

Biological resources:
Hunan has a variety of animals and wide range of distribution. Incomplete statistics show that the province has 70 kinds of mammals, 310 kinds of birds, over 70 kinds of creeping animals and over 160 kinds of fish. It has 44 rare and state-protected animals. Eighteen kinds of rare animals are under Class A protection, like the white-flag dolphin, South China tiger. Nineteen kinds of animals, like the macaque and short-tail monkey, are under Class B protection. The third category of protected animals includes seven species, such as bear.

At the end of 2005, the province had set up 92 nature reserves to put a total area of 1.1 million hectares under protection.

Tourism resources

Hunan has lots of elegant landscapes and numerous historic sites. It now has over 20,000 cultural remains, including 22 national-level key protection units and 211 provincial-level key protection units. The province has four state-class natural reserves, 22 provincial-class natural reserves and 21 national forest parks. The total area of nature reserves is 7,260 square km, 3.43% of the province's total.

Hunan has developed 43 scenic areas. There are three national-level key scenic areas covering Mount Hengshan, WulinYuan, Yueyang Tower, Dongting Lake and Shaoshan, and 27 provincial–class scenic areas.

WulingYuan tourist area (including Zhangjiajie, Suoxi Valley and Tianzi Mountain and Mengdong River), with its unique physiognomy, limestone caves, brooks, hot springs, ancient trees and rare animals, has been placed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the World Natural Heritage List. Mount Hengshan is the famous sacred mountain of Buddhism and a summer resort. Yueyang Tower is also well known at home and abroad for its long history, folklore and grand architecture. Changsha, the provincial capital, is a historic and cultural city. Tourist sites there include Han Dynasty Tombs at Mawangdui, Yuelu Hill, Loving Youth Pavilion (Aiwanting), Orange Isle (Juzizhou), and Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning.