The China Project: Materials : Issues of Geography

CONTENT
	Issues of Geography

	Student Handout 1: Why People and Families Move?

	Student Handout 2: Economic Reasons for Peasant Migration

	Tables

Issues of Geography

Student Handout 2: Economic Reasons for Peasant Migration in China

Prepared by Amparo Rivera-Gonzalez, Central Park East High School, Manhattan

Table 1

Comparison of Per-Capita Annual Income in Rural and Urban Areas *

Year Rural Urban Urban(rur=1) Rural(urb=1)

1982 270 535 1.98 50

1983 310 573 1.85 54

1984 355 660 1.86 54

1985 398 749 1.88 53

1986 424 910 2.15 47

1987 463 1012 2.19 46

1989 545 1192 2.19 46

1989 602 1388 2.31 43

1990 630 1523 2.42 41

Source: Statistical Yearbook of China, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994.

This table appeared in JPRS CAR-92-043, June 22, 1992, 14 under the title, "Income Distribution Statistics Analyzed" (from JJYJ, 1 (1992), 53-63).

* There is much uncertainty about how to calculate these figures, given factors such as the state subsidization of basic necessities in cities, but the gradual decline in this over time; the increasing mobility of rural residents; and the chan ing composition of rural households as a result. This set of official statistics is flawed, but offers a rough approximation of overall patterns.

Table 2

Provinces Where Average Per Capita Cultivated Land Was Less Than 1.5 Mu. 1989

Province Per Cap Cult. Land Province Per Cap Cult. Land(rur=1)

Jiangsu 1.41 Hunan* 1.17

Guangdong 1.00 Zhejiang .98

Guangxi* 1.16 Anhui* 1.59

Hainan 1.19 Pujian .93

Sichuan* 1.13 Tiangxi* 1.33

Guizhou* 1.20 Shandong 1.52

*Provinces frequently cited in the literature as sources of the floating population. (This excludes Beijing and Shanghai, which are provincial-level units but are actually large cities, where the figures are 1.02 and 1.06, respectively.)

Source: Guojia Tongjiju bian, Zhongguo Tongji Nianjian 1990, 335.

Table 3

Provinces Where Per Capita Agricultural Output Value Per Laborer Was Less than 2,000 yuan, 1990 (national average = 3,931.8)

Province		Output Value Per Laborer

Anhui*		1940.4

Henan*		1806.2

Hunan*		1746.4

Guangxi*		1582.1

Sichuan*		1512.4

Guizhou*		1154.3

Yunnan		1401.9

Gansu*		1508.7

Tibet		1974.8

Shaanxi		1717.5

Ningxia		1925.1

*Provinces frequently cited in the literature as sources of the floating population. Source: Rural Statistical Yearbook 1992, 195.

Table 4

Provinces Where Rural Household Average Net per Capita Income Was Under 560 Yuan per Annum, 1990 (national average = 686.31)

Province		Average per Capita Net Income, 1990

Anhui*		539.15

Henan*		526.95

Sichuan*		557.76

Guizhou*		435.14

Yunnan		540.86

Shaanxi		530.80

Gansu*		430.98

*Provinces frequently cited in the literature as sources of the floating population.
Source: Rural-Statistical Yearbook 1992, 217.

Table 5

Provinces Where Agricultural Laborers Represented 65 Percent or More of the Rural Workforce, 1990 (national average = 60.2)

Province		Agricultural Laborers as Percent of Total Workers

Anhui*		68.8

Jiangxi*		66.1

Henan*		68.4

Hunan*		72.3

Guangxi*		76.5

Sichuan*		72.5

Guizhou*		78.2

Yunnan		78.2

Gansu*		65.4

*Province frequently cited in the literature as sources of the floating population. (This excludes Tibet, where the percentage is 80.1, but from which migration must be very difficult, and Hainan, where the percentage is 70.2, but where, since development is rapid, there would be less incentive to leave.)

Source: Rural Statistical Yearbook 1992, 35.