Statistical Monitoring Report of China National Program for Child Development (2021-2030) in 2021
National Bureau of Statistics, April 2023
In 2021, the China National Program for Child Development (2021–2030) (hereinafter referred to as “Program”) was put into action. To offer a comprehensive picture of its progress, the National Bureau of Statistics carried out a thorough analysis of its implementation progress in seven aspects: children’s health, safety, education, welfare, family, environment, and legal protection. The analysis drew upon the statistical monitoring indicators system and relevant departmental data pertaining to the Program. The results revealed that the Program made smooth strides in its first year of implementation, with an overall improvement in children’s health, continued strengthening of safety protection, steady advancements in education, improved and expanded child welfare standards and coverage, ongoing enhancements in family construction, increasingly optimized growth environments, and continual improvements to the legal protection mechanism.
I. Children and Health
(I) Children’s health level was steadily improved, with ongoing enhancements to children’s health service system, and a continuous decline in children’s mortality rate. In 2021, the number of licensed (assistant) pediatric doctors per thousand children rose to 0.78, an increase of 0.14 from 2020, and the number of hospital beds per thousand children also saw a slight increase of 0.03 to 2.2.The national neonatal mortality rate dropped to 3.1‰, a decline of 0.3‰, while the infant mortality rate decreased from 5.4‰ in 2020 to 5‰. Additionally, the mortality rate for children under the age of 5 fell by 0.4‰, standing at 7.1‰.
(II) Efforts were continuously intensified to comprehensively prevent and treat birth defects. A preliminary birth defect prevention and treatment system was established that covers the premarital, pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and child stages. The publicity and education on preventing and treating birth defects were intensified, leading to a continued improvement in the public’s awareness of eugenics and health. In 2021, the national rate of premarital medical examinations was 70.9%, marking a 2.5% increase from 2020, the rate of prenatal screening increased by 4.6% to reach 85.7%, and the rate of newborn visits increased by 0.7% to reach 96.2%.
(III) The management of children’s health was strengthened, with a comprehensive strengthening of children’s health services and management that centers on key areas for children’s growth and development, including growth monitoring, nutrition and feeding guidance, eye health, and vision checks. In 2021, the rate of health management for children under the age of 3 was 92.8%, and the rate of health management for children under the age of 7 was 94.6%, an increase of 0.3% compared to 2020. The coverage rate of eye health and vision checks for children aged 0-6 was 93%, an increase of 1.2%. The myopia rates for elementary school and junior high school students were 35.5% and 71.1%, respectively, which were largely consistent with the rates reported in 2020.
(IV) The prevention and treatment of children’s diseases continued to be strengthened. Efforts were made to strengthen the prevention and control of infectious diseases among children, and the vaccination rates for various vaccines included in the National Immunization Program among eligible children remained high. The treatment and diagnosis system for major diseases such as children’s blood diseases was gradually improved. In 2021, all vaccines included in the National Immunization Program for eligible children maintained a vaccination rate of over 90%. The anemia rate for children under the age of 5 was 4.2%, a decrease of 0.3% compared to 2020, and the rate of stunted growth for children under the age of 5 was 1.1%. The state issued the Notice on Further Expanding the Scope of Treatment and Management of Children’s Blood Diseases and Malignant Tumors, adding a total of 22 diseases to the scope.
(V) Attention was paid to the holistic development of children’s physical and mental health. The mechanism for student health examinations and physical fitness monitoring has been continuously improved, and education to guide children in developing correct gender and moral concepts has gradually been incorporated into the basic education system. In 2021, the proportions of elementary and secondary schools with full-time mental health education teachers were 30.1% and 54.2%, respectively, marking an increase of 21% and 23.7% compared to 2020, respectively. The proportion of secondary schools that offer education on HIV/AIDS and sex education-related courses and activities increased by 4.3% to reach 94.4% in 2021.
II. Children and Safety
(I) Positive progress was made in the prevention and control of children’s injuries. The publicity and education on children’s injury prevention and control were strengthened, and the ability to prevent and treat children’s injuries was improved, leading to a decrease in the mortality rate due to such injuries. In 2021, the mortality rate for children’s injuries was 10.28/100,000, a decrease of 7.1% compared to 2020. The drowning mortality rate for children decreased from 3.38/100,000 in 2020 to 3.29/100,000, a decrease of 2.7%.
(II) The safety supervision of food and products for children was strengthened. Efforts were intensified to crack down on illegal and non-compliant behaviors related to the safety of food and products for children, with the aim of preventing and reducing injuries caused by them. In 2021, the safety spot-checks of infant formula and food showed a conforming rate of 99.89%, while the quality supervision spot-checks of children’s products showed a non-conforming rate of 13.92%.
III. Children and Education
(I) The coverage and accessibility of preschool education were improved. In 2021, the fourth phase of the Action Plan for Preschool Education was implemented, resulting in a further expansion of the supply of government-subsidized preschool education resources and a continuous improvement of its coverage. The gross enrollment rate for preschool education nationwide was 88.1%, an increase of 2.9% compared to 2020. The number of government-subsidized kindergartens increased by 11,000 to a total of 245,000, accounting for 83% of all kindergartens, an increase of 2.8%. The number of children enrolled in government-subsidized kindergartens increased by 1.354 million to a total of 42.182 million, and the coverage rate of government-subsidized kindergartens increased by 3% to reach 87.8%.
(II) The balanced development of compulsory education continued to be promoted. In 2021, On the basis of the general popularization of compulsory education, all counties in China have passed the national supervision and evaluation for the basic balanced development of compulsory education, marking the achievement of basic balance in compulsory education across the country. The consolidation rate of nine-year compulsory education was 95.4%, an increase of 0.2 % compared to 2020. The net enrollment rate for elementary school-aged children and the transition rate from elementary school to junior high school were 99.9% and 99.3%, respectively, while the gross enrollment rate[1] for junior high schools remained above 100%. In 2021, there were a total of 207,000 schools at the compulsory education level in China, staffed with 10.572 million full-time teachers, an increase of 277,000.
(III) The popularization of senior high school education was further consolidated and improved. In 2021, the gross enrollment rate for senior high schools increased by 0.2% from 2020 to reach 91.4%. The total number of senior high schools nationwide was 24,000, with a total of 44.031 million students enrolled, an increase of 2.453 million compared to 2020. Of the total number of senior high school students, 26.05 million were enrolled in regular senior high schools, an increase of 1.106 million and accounting for 59.2%; 17.385 million students were enrolled in secondary vocational schools, an increase of 0.752 million and accounting for 39.5%.
(IV) The educational rights of special children population were ensured. In 2021, the number of special education schools in China increased by 44 from 2020 to reach a total of 2,288. These schools had 69,000 full-time teachers, an increase of 3,184, and enrolled 920,000 students, an increase of 39,000.
IV. Children and Welfare
(I) The standards and coverage of child welfare were improved and expanded. The coverage of basic medical insurance for children was strengthened, while the basic living standards of orphans [2] and de facto unsupported orphans [3] continued to improve, and more disabled children received rehabilitation assistance. By the end of 2021, basic medical insurance coverage for urban and rural residents had been extended to a total of 250 million children. In 2021, the average monthly subsistence allowances for orphans in centralized institutional care and socially dispersed orphans were RMB 1697.40 and RMB 1257.20, respectively, an increase of RMB 86.10 and RMB 72.90 respectively compared to 2020. The average monthly subsistence allowance for de facto unsupported orphans was RMB 1248.10, an increase of RMB 69.90. The number of disabled children who received rehabilitation assistance increased by 79,000 to reach 363,000. Additionally, 6.722 million children were provided with the subsistence allowance.
(II) The workforce of grassroots child service institutions expanded. Efforts were made to optimize and innovate child welfare institutions, providing caring services to minors, including those facing various forms of adversity. By the end of 2021, there were a total of 539 child welfare institutions and 276 institutions dedicated to assisting and protecting minors nationwide. The number of urban and rural community-based children’s homes increased by 8,550 to reach 329,000. The number of child supervisors and child directors nationwide reached 53,000 and 651,000, respectively, essentially achieving the objective of equipping child supervisors at the township level and child directors at the village level.
V. Children and Family
(I) Further progress was made in the construction of civilized families. Efforts were made to promote good family, family education, and family ethics, guiding families to prioritize the cultivation of good morals and character in their parenting and to instill positive values, morals, and habits in their children. The Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of Good Family, Family Education, and Family Ethics and the Opinions on Further Improving the Working Mechanism of Family Civilization Construction Activities were issued. The “Happy and Healthy Family Project” was implemented with a focus on building good families, fostering good family education, and passing on good family ethics. In 2021, women’s federations at all levels recognized 49,858 households as “Five Good Families” and identified and recommended 1.786 million outstanding families of various types.
(II) The guidance service system for family education was gradually improved. The Law on the Promotion of Family Education was officially enforced, which explicitly stipulated the promotion of the construction of a guidance service system for family education and its incorporation in the urban and rural public service system and the government’s purchase service catalog. A work plan for family education was developed and implemented. In 2021, there were 418,000 parent schools nationwide, training a total of 69.594 million individuals.
(III) Supportive laws, regulations, and policies for family childbirth, childrearing, and education were implemented and put into effect. Local governments successively revised their population and family planning regulations and introduced a series of supporting policies, including those related to finance, taxation, education, housing, and employment, to support new childbirth policies. They actively explored measures such as childrearing allowances and parental leave to support families in childbirth and childrearing. A special action was launched to promote government-subsidized childcare services, which provided a subsidy of RMB 10,000 for each new childcare spot. By the end of 2021, there were 2.03 childcare spots per 1,000 people in China.
VI. Children and Environment
(I) There was a continued improvement in the living environment for children’s healthy growth. In 2021, the coverage rate of tap water in rural areas was 84%, an increase of 1% compared to 2020. The compliance rate for centralized drinking water source quality in cities at or above the prefecture level was 94.2% and the coverage rate of sanitary toilets in rural areas exceeded 70%.
(II) There was an increasing abundance of cultural products available for children. Efforts were made to meet the demands of children and teenagers for new cultural products and services, with a continuous expansion of the supply of cultural products and services tailored to their needs. In 2021, the total number of books published for children and teenagers in junior high schools and below nationwide reached 970 million (pieces), an increase of 65.62 million copies (pieces) from 2020. In addition, there were 8.016 million boxes (pieces) of children’s audiovisual products published. The public library nationwide had a collection of 170 million children’s literature, an increase of 15.167 million. The total broadcast time of children’s radio programs nationwide was 288,000 hours, which was essentially the same as that in 2020. The broadcast time of children’s TV animations and children’s TV programs was 452,000 hours and 626,000 hours, respectively.
(III) A child-friendly environment for growth was gradually established. Efforts were made across the country to vigorously promote the construction of child-friendly cities, resulting in an increasingly optimized child-friendly environment. In 2021, there were a total of 5,567 community-based practice and education camps (bases) for Young Pioneers. A total of 360 million teenagers participated in science popularization activities and 180 million minors visited museums, an increase of 59.055 million from 2020. Throughout the year, a total of 2.861 million pieces of illegal and harmful online information that endangered children were dealt with.
VII. Children and Legal Protection
(I) The judicial system for minors was gradually improved. The “best interests of the child” principle specified in the Law on the Protection of Minors was fully implemented, and the working mechanisms for juvenile trials and minor prosecutions were further improved. By the end of 2021, a total of 2,181 juvenile courts and 2,176 specialized agencies for minor prosecution were established nationwide. In 2021, there were 148,000 cases of minors receiving legal aid, an increase of 23% compared to 2020. Moreover, 2,795 and 10,719 minors received judicial aid from the People’s Court and the People’s Procuratorate, respectively.
(II) Illegal and criminal acts that violated the personal rights of children were severely punished in accordance with the law. The “Reunion” Special Action to search for abducted and missing children was intensively carried out, and illegal criminal acts that infringed on the legitimate rights and interests of children through the internet were severely punished in accordance with the law. In 2021, there were a total of 348 cases of child abduction and trafficking resolved nationwide, resulting in the recovery of 11,000 missing or abducted children from previous years.
(III) New progress was made in preventing juvenile delinquency. The legislative guarantee was strengthened and the newly revised Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency was implemented. A six-in-one framework for the protection of minors was established, covering family, school, society, internet, government, and judiciary, to create a favorable social environment for the physical and mental development of minors. In 2021, the total number of juvenile offenders nationwide was 35,000, which accounted for 2.02% of the total number of offenders during the same period, a decrease of 0.19% compared to 2020.
Notes:
[1]The gross enrollment rate for junior high schools refers to the percentage of total students enrolled in junior high schools within the population of the age group specified by the state for junior high schools.
[2]Orphans refer to minors under the age of 18 who have lost their parents or cannot locate their birth parents, as recognized by local civil affairs departments at or above the county level in accordance with applicable regulations and conditions, and have received basic living allowances for orphans. Among them, orphans in centralized institutional care refer to those raised or fostered by social welfare institutions, while socially dispersed orphans refer to those who are dispersedly supported in society and whose legal guardians undertake the obligation of supporting them and fulfilling their guardianship duties.
[3]De facto unsupported orphans refer to children whose both parents meet one of the following conditions: severe disabilities, severe illness, serving imprisonment, undergoing mandatory isolation and detoxification, being subject to other measures that restrict personal freedom, missing, having their guardianship qualifications revoked, or having been deported (expelled) out of the country; or children whose one parent has died or gone missing, and the other parent meets one of the aforementioned conditions.