Home / Government / Central Government News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Urban Income Gap Widens to Alarming Level
Adjust font size:

China income gap between the urban rich and poor has widened to an alarming and unreasonable level, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a report issued Sunday.

The NDRC made the announcement after an investigation into China's urban population and relevant statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

"China's income gap is continuously expanding," said the NDRC report. At present, China's Gini Coefficient (an internationally accepted measurement of income equality) is 0.4, the international benchmark for alarm. The NDRC warns that the actual figure may be even higher as a number of incomes may have been underestimated.

Statistics show that the 20 percent with the lowest income in China's cities only get 2.75 percent of the country's total urban income, or equivalent to only 4.6 percent of the income of China's richest 20 percent.

The growing income gap was caused by growing salary gaps between different industries, between the employers and the employees, and increases in part time incomes.

Professor Li Yingsheng of the Renmin University of China, who participated in the social investigation on urban income, said China lacked an income adjustment mechanism.

Professor Li urges the government to further increase the proportion of middle-level income groups and raise the income of the lowest-level groups.

Officials with the NDRC said the government had pledged to take tougher measures in the coming years to curb the increasing inequality.

(Shenzhen Daily February 7, 2006)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read

Related Stories
Access to Opportunity Eases Income Inequality
Shenzhen to Keep Wealth Balance
Measures Urged to Close Income Gap
Income Gap Critical by 2010, Experts Warn
Widening Income Gap Worrying: Political Advisors
Income Gap Grows Wider in Beijing
 
SiteMap | About Us | RSS | Newsletter | Feedback
SEARCH THIS SITE
Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved     E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-88828000 京ICP证 040089号