At the end of 2004, the total population of China was 1.3 billion.  In the same year, there were 15.93 million births, a crude birth rate of 12.29 per thousand population, a crude death rate of 6.42 per thousand population, and 8.32 million deaths.  Net population growth in 2004 was 7.61 million, representing a natural growth rate of 5.87 per thousand, down by 0.014 percentage points from the previous year.

In 2004, the per capita annual net income of rural households was RMB 2936 (US$ 356).  The per capita disposable income of urban households was RMB 9422 (US$ 1138), a real increase of 7.7%.  The population in absolute poverty in rural areas (with an annual per capita net income below RMB 668 or US$ 81) was 26.1 million at the end of 2004, a decline of 2.9 million from the previous year.  The low-income population in rural areas (with annual per capita net income between RMB 669 and 924 or US$ 114) was 49.77 million, a decline of 6.4 million.



In the past 20 years, China has made considerable progress towards an improved standard of living for its population, including better health, reduced levels of poverty and strong macroeconomic growth.

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