General Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP)

GDP for 2005 was 1.827 trillion yuan, up 14.5% from the previous year. The per capita GDP stood at 24,515 yuan (US$3,038).

GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)

The primary industry yielded a value added of 138.858 billion yuan, 2.8% more than that of the previous year; the secondary industry, 1,034.267 billion yuan, a growth of 16.0%; the tertiary industry, 654.087 billion yuan, a growth of 14.8%. The GDP ratio of the three sectors is 7.6: 56.6: 35.8.

Revenue and expenditure

Provincial revenue was 312.48 billion yuan, an increase of 23.8% over the previous year. Provincial expenditure was 165.283 billion yuan, an increase of 18.8%

Consumer price index (CPI)

CPI was 2.1% up from the previous year.

Investment in fixed assets

Fixed asset investment was valued at 873.97 billion yuan, up by 28% from the previous year.

Major Industries

Agriculture

In 2005, the province's total grain output was 28.346 million tons, an increase of 55,000 tons from the previous year.

Industry

The industrial added value was 932.667 billion yuan, an increase of 16.7%.

High-tech

The total output value from high-tech industries was 792.817 billion yuan, up by 34.4%.

Construction

Its added value totaled 101.6 billion yuan, up by 10.7%.

Transportation

Freight carried by various means of transport during the year amounted to a total of 1.134 billion tons, 13.3% up from the previous year. Passengers carried by various means of transport numbered 1.48 billion during the year, up 15.2%.

Postal services

The annual turnover of postal operations totaled 5.295 billion yuan, a growth of 13.4%.

Telecommunications

Its annual turnover was 67.612 billion yuan, up by 35.8% from the previous year. At the end of 2005, the number of fixed line subscribers reached 30.594 million, an increase of 4.775 million from 2004; and the number of mobile phone subscribers reached 25.504 million, an increase of 3.319 million. The Internet users numbered 4.495 million.

Retail

The annual turnover from retail sales reached 569.99 billion yuan, an increase of 16% from the previous year.

Tourism

Revenue from domestic tourism totaled 162.562 billion yuan, up by 26.0%. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism totaled US$2.26 billion, up by 28.1%.

Continued Effects of Market Reform

Imports & exports

The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$227.941 billion, an increase of 33.4% from the previous year. Of the figure, US$122.982 were from exports, up 40.5%, and US$104.959 were from imports, up 26.1%.

Economic and technological cooperation

Overseas project and labor contracts signed during the year were valued at US$3.31 billion, up 35.1% from the previous year. Business turnover for the year totaled US$3.197 billion, an increase of 28.9% from the previous year. By the end of 2005, a total of 100,280 people were working outstation.

Foreign investment

Foreign investment realized in monetary terms was US$13.18 billion, up by 29.2% from the year before.

Social Undertakings

Science and technology

The expenditure on various scientific and technological activities during the year totaled 61.7 billion yuan, up by 28%. Of this figure, 27 billion yuan were invested in research and development activities, accounting for 1.48% of the province's GDP.

Education

By the end of 2005, the province had a total of 115 institutions of higher learning. The number of students enrolled during the year stood at 361,500. A total of 229,700 students graduated.

Culture

The province has a total of 129 arts performance organizations, 116 cultural and arts centers, 102 public libraries, 99 museums, and 170 archives. About 99.7% and 99.6% of the provincial population respectively had access to various radio and TV programs. The cable TV subscribers numbered 10.222 million at the year-end.

Public health

At the end of the year, there were 15,007 public health institutions staffed with a work force of 257,500 people and equipped with 193,900 beds.

Sports

Athletes from the province won 3 gold medals and 5 silver medals in high-level international competitions during the year.

Welfare and aid

At the end of the year, various welfare units were equipped with 94,300 beds and put up 73,900 homeless and vagrant people. There were 24,550 community service facilities at the year-end. The welfare fund raised during the year totaled 405 million yuan. Direct donations received from the public were 240 million yuan. About 1.286 million urban and rural residents received basic living allowances from the government.

Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards

Population

In 2005, the birth rate was 9.24‰, and the mortality rate 7.03‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 2.21‰. At the end of the year, the resident population was 74.745 million, an increase of 420,000 from the previous year.

Employment

The employed population of the province was 45.101 million at the end of 2005, an increase of 276,000 from the year before. A total of 415,500 laid-off workers got re-employed during the year.

Registered unemployment rate

The registered unemployment rate was 3.6%, down by 0.3 percentage points.

Social security

In 2005, insurance plans for endowments, medical treatment, and unemployment covered a population of 12.345 million, 11.831 million, and 8.383 million respectively.

Residents' income

The disposable income of urban residents was 12,319 yuan per capita, up by 15.2% from 2004. Rural residents' per capita net income was 5,276 yuan, up 8.4%.

Residents' expenditure

The per capita consumption of urban residents was 8,622 yuan, a growth of 17.6% from the year before. Rural residents' per capita consumption was 3,567 yuan, up 17.5%.

Geography and Natural Conditions

Topography

The province is located in the fertile land of the Yangtze River delta. Most of its land is flat, dotted with the Taihu and Hongze Lake; two of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. On its southwestern and northern borders are hilly lands.

Land
Of the province's territory, the plains cover a total area of 70,600 square km; water covers a total of 17,300 square km; cultivated land amounts to some 5 million hectares.

Climate

Located in a transit belt from the subtropics to a warm temperate zone, Jiangsu features a distinctive monsoon climate. Generally speaking, the area south of the Huaihe River and the Northern Jiangsu General Irrigation Canal enjoys a subtropical humid monsoon climate while the area northward enjoys a warm temperate humid monsoon climate. It is warm with moderate rainfalls and clear-cut seasons in the province. The annual average temperature is between 13-16 centigrade. The annual rainfall is between 724-1,210 mm. The rainfall in summer accounts for 50% of the annual rainfall.

Natural resources

Water resources
Jiangsu boasts a network of rivers and lakes. The Yangtze River runs over 400 km through the province from west to east while the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs 690 km from north to south. There is the Qinhuai River in its southwest; Northern Jiangsu General Irrigation Canal, Xinmu River and Nantong-Yanzhou Canal in the northern part. The province also boasts more than 290 lakes including the Taihu Lake and Hongze Lake.

Jiangsu has abundant aquatic resources. The area of fish farms in the east coast reaches 154,000 square km. The noted four farms including Lusi and Haizhou Bay teem with yellow croaker, cutlass fish, butterfish, shrimps, crabs, shellfish and algae. The province is also the major producer of freshwater crabs and eel fry. The inland waters within the province cover a total area of 1.73 million hectares. The aquatic farms cover a total area of some 533,333 hectares, cultivating 140 types of fish.

Mineral resources
Jiangsu has a wide distribution of mineral resources with a rich variety. The mineral products discovered so far total 120. Major energy resources include coal, petroleum and natural gas. Non-metallic resources include sulphur, phosphorus, sodium salt, crystal, cyanite, sapphire, diamond, kaolin, limestone, quartz sand, marble and pottery clay. The metallic resources include copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, strontium and manganese. The province is particularly rich in clay, building materials, chemical raw materials, metallurgic auxiliary materials, minerals for special uses and non-ferrous metals.

Tourism resources

Jiangsu has a long history of a relatively developed economy and culture. Rich in landscape gardens, scenic attractions and historical sites, it is noted for having the largest number of historical cities in the country. Such cities include Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changshu, Xuzhou and Huai'an. There are 20 scenic spots, 23 forest parks, 6 holiday resorts and 416 cultural heritage sites under the state and provincial-level protection. Classical gardens in Suzhou were put on the world cultural heritage site list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.