China’s education level, healthcare system continue to improve

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 75 years ago, the education level of the entire society and the health-care system have significantly improved, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

In the early years of the PRC, more than 80 percent of the population was illiterate.

In 2023, the gross enrollment rate of preschool education, the consolidation rate of the nine-year compulsory education, and the gross enrollment rate of senior high school arrived at 91.1 percent, 95.7 percent, and 91.8 percent, respectively. The number of students in compulsory education and senior high school was 160 million and 45.42 million, respectively, 6.4 times and 103 times those of 1949.

China’s gross enrollment rate of higher education exceeded 60 percent, ranking first in the world. The average years of schooling of the working-age population increased from just over eight years in 1982 to 11.05 years. The numbers of China’s human resources and scientific and technological human resources ranked first in the world.

In the last year, there were a total of 2,345 special education schools nationwide, marking an increase of 31 schools from 2022. And 1.62 billion students have received financial assistance with the amount totaling around 2.6 trillion yuan (about 365 billion U.S. dollars).

China’s cultural industry has flourished. By the end of 2023, China had 3,246 public libraries and 6,833 museums, 59 times and 325 times the numbers in 1949. The total import and export volume of cultural products increased from 88.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2012 to 162.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. China’s cultural soft power keep enhancing.

China’s medical and health services have made continuous progress. By the end of 2023, China had 1.07 million medical and health institutions, along with 10.17 million beds and 12.49 million health workers. In 2020, the life expectancy of the population reached 77.93 years, 43 years higher than that in 1949, which is higher than the average level of middle-and high-income countries.

China’s education level, healthcare system continue to improve

The three major global initiatives on development, security, and civilization proposed by President Xi Jinping are worthwhile studying, said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in an interview with China Media Group on Tuesday.

In the interview on a high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, Store, who was paying an official visit to China from Monday to Wednesday, said the three global initiatives condense China’s fine culture and tradition, noting that he looks forward to the implementation of the initiatives.

“I think they are worthwhile studying. We have all different way of expressing our aspiration for the world. I think there’s something recognizable about Chinese culture and tradition in the way President Xi expresses this. I hope it will be followed up, you know, with concrete actions on the international scenes in relations with other countries like mine,” he said.

The Global Development Initiative, proposed by Xi at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2021, aims to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth.

The Global Security Initiative was proposed in April 2022, aiming to give clear answers to questions of the times, such as what security concept the world needs and how countries can achieve common security.

The Global Civilization Initiative, put forward in March 2023, calls for upholding the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialog and inclusiveness among civilizations.

Norwegian PM on President Xi’s global initiatives