Statistical Monitoring Report of China National Program for Women’s Development (2021-2030) in 2023
National Bureau of Statistics of China, January 2025
In order to fully reflect the progress in the implementation of the China National Program for Women’s Development (2021-2030) (hereinafter referred to as the Program), the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS of China), based on the statistical and monitoring index system and data of relevant departments pertaining to the Program, made a comprehensive analysis of its implementation in 2023 in respect of eight areas including health, education, economy, decision-making and management, social security, family building, environment and law. The results[1] showed that the Program was implemented in a smooth way in 2023. Women’s health management level continued to rise, and their rights to education and participation in economic activities were strongly safeguarded. Social security and judicial protections for women were consistently enhanced.
I. Women and Health
(I) Maternal health and safety were effectively ensured. The implementation of the five maternal and infant safety systems was consolidated, and the Action Plan for Maternal and Child Health Improvement from 2021 to 2025 was further advanced. This resulted in enhanced maternal health services and secured maternal safety. In 2023, the maternal mortality rate was 15.1 per 100,000, declining by 3.8 percent compared to that in 2022. The maternal mortality rate in rural areas was 17.0 per 100,000, while the maternal mortality rate in urban areas amounted to 12.5 per 100,000, representing a 12.6 percent decrease.
(II) Comprehensive health management for the entire maternity cycle improved continuously. TheAction Plan for Reproductive Health Promotion(2023-2025) was formulated and implemented, along with capacity-building initiatives for maternal and child health institutions, strengthening comprehensive health management throughout the maternity cycle. The premarital medical examination rate was 76.5 percent in 2023, with an increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to 2022. The rate for the management of pregnant and lying-in women and the rate for prenatal screening were 94.5 percent and 91.3 percent, respectively, representing increases of 0.9 and 2.6 percentage points respectively. The hospital delivery rate for pregnant women continued to remain at 99.9 percent. The postpartum visit rate was 97.0 percent, with an increase of 0.5 percentage points.
(III) Mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV continued to decline. TheAction Plan for Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B (2022-2025) was implemented to integrate prevention of mother-to-child transmission into routine maternal and child healthcare and maternal services, significantly reducing intergenerational HIV transmission. The mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV was 1.3 percent in 2023, with a decrease of 1.7 percentage points compared to 2022. Five provinces (Beijing, Jiangsu, Hunan, Guangdong, and Yunnan) achieved the Program’s goal of reducing the transmission rate to below 2 percent. The antiviral medication rate for pregnant women who infected with HIV and their infants remained above 99 percent.
II. Women and Education
(I) The gender gap in compulsory education was basically eliminated. Successive issuance of theOpinions on Building a Quality and Balanced Basic Public Education Service System and the Opinions in relation to the Implementation of the Action Plan for the Expansion and Improvement of Elementary Education in the New Era comprehensively promoted policies such as admission to compulsory education without exams based on proximity and synchronized enrollment for public and private schools. The implementation of the school improvement action in compulsory education ensured that girls had equal access to fair and high-quality education. The net enrollment rate for girls and boys of school age in primary education in 2023 was 99.9 percent for both. The number of girls enrolled in the nine-year compulsory education stage was 75.377 million in 2023, with an increase of 1.288 million compared to 2022. It accounted for 46.9 percent of the total enrolled students, a 0.1 percentage point increase from 2022.
(III) Women’s access to all types of vocational education was safeguarded. The implementation of theOpinions on Deepening the Reform of the Construction of Modern Vocational Education System was advanced, with secondary vocational schools as the foundation, higher vocational colleges as the main body, and vocational bachelor’s programs as the guiding force. Efforts were made to accelerate the construction of high-level vocational schools and programs, improve the vocational college entrance examination system, refine the examination methods for upgrading from junior college students to university students, and enhance training models. The level of women’s equal access to all types of vocational education was continuously consolidated. The number of female students in secondary vocational education[3] was 7.331 million in 2023, accounting for 42.2 percent of the total enrolled students. For higher vocational and undergraduate vocational education, the number of female students was 8.247 million, accounting for 47.4 percent of the total enrolled students.
(IV) The gender ratio in higher education has been essentially balanced. The construction of the largest higher education system in the world was continuously promoted, further consolidating and improving the level of higher education popularization. The rights of women to receive higher education were strongly protected. The gross enrollment rate in higher education reached 60.2 percent, a 0.6 percentage points increase from 2022. The number of female students in higher education was 29.489 million in 2023, with an increase of 457,000 compared to 2022. It accounted for 49.9 percent of the total enrolled students, indicating a balanced gender ratio. There were 1.963 million female graduate students, accounting for 50.6 percent of all graduate students. The number of female students learning in general colleges[4] and female students learning in adult colleges was 18.872 million and 5.643 million respectively, with a proportion of 50.0 percent and 56.0 percent respectively.
(V) The gender gap in scientific literacy has been continuously narrowing. The implementation of theOutline of the Action Plan for Improving the Public's Scientific Literacy (2021-2025) was further advanced, along with the action plan for grassroots science popularization, the rural women’s quality improvement plan, and the employee quality construction program, aimed at improving the scientific literacy levels of various age groups and different populations. As a result, the gap in scientific literacy between men and women was further narrowed. The gender gap in scientific literacy[5] was 3.13 percent in 2023, which decreased by 0.66 percentage points compared to 2022.
III. Women and the Economy
(I) The share of women of all employed people remained above 40 percent. To further give high priority to employment, increased policy support was provided for industries and enterprises with strong employment capabilities to expand job positions. A special action was launched to clean up and regulate the labor market order, so that strong protection of women’s employment rights can be realized. There were 320 million females employed nationwide in 2023, accounting for 43.3 percent of the total workforce, a 0.1 percentage points increase from 2022. For urban non-private sector employees, there were 67.038 million females, representing 41.0 percent of the workforce, a 0.5 percentage points increase from 2022.
(II) Labor safety and health protections for women were strengthened. Multiple departments jointly issued theRules for the Special Labor Protection of Female Employees in the Workplace (Reference Text) to guide employers in standardizing labor management and enhancing the safety and health protection of female employees. This initiative deeply implemented the Healthy China Initiative (2019-2030), actively promoted occupational health protection actions, and strived to improve the occupational health literacy level of workers. The proportion of enterprises implementing theSpecial Rules on the Labour Protection of Female Employees was 73.5 percent in 2023, a 0.6 percentage points increase from 2022. The occupational health literacy level of female employees[6] was 0.9 percentage points higher than that of males.
IV. Participation of Women in Decision-Making and Management
(I) The proportion of women among deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) increased. In 2023, women accounted for 26.5 percent of the deputies to the 14th NPC, an increase of 1.6 percentage points compared to the previous session. Female members made up 13.8 percent of the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the previous session. Women constituted 22.4 percent of the members of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, an increase of 2.0 percentage points compared to the previous session, while female members accounted for 16.1 percent of the Standing Committee of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, an increase of 3.1 percentage points over the previous session.
(II) Efforts to train and select female cadres were enhanced. In 2023, the proportion of teams with female cadres in government departments at provincial, municipal and county levels was 57.4 percent, 59.3 percent and 55.0 percent respectively, with an increase of 2.2, 2.0 and 2.2 percentage points compared to 2022. The ratio of leading bodies with female official cadres in governments at provincial, municipal and county levels was 12.3 percent, 16.3 percent and 14.5 percent respectively, representing increases of 1.1, 1.1, and 1.0 percentage points respectively.
(III) Participation of women in corporate decision-making and management has been more widespread. Employers were urged to establish and implement gender-equal human resource systems, facilitate career development pathways for women, improve democratic management systems in enterprises and public institutions, and support female employees in participating in corporate decision-making and democratic management. In 2023, the proportion of female staff directors and staff supervisors in enterprises was 37.7 percent and 41.9 percent respectively, with 0.6 and 1.1 percentage points higher than those in 2022, respectively. The proportion of women in employee congresses was 31.2 percent, an increase of 0.9 percentage points.
(IV) Women actively participated in social organizations. Women were encouraged and supported to participate in public affairs and charitable activities, fully leveraging their important roles in social organizations. In 2023, the proportion of women working in social organizations was 42.3 percent, 0.8 percentage points higher than in 2022. Women accounted for 26.3 percent of heads of social organizations.
V. Women and Social Security
(I) Women’s rights to participate in basic medical insurance were continuously strengthened. Efforts were made to advance the development of a multi-level medical insurance system that is universal, urban-rural integrated, equitable, unified, safe, standardized, and sustainable. Targeted measures were implemented to expand insurance coverage, such as enforcing policies allowing residents with residence permits to participate in insurance, ensuring the inclusion of key groups like migrant populations, and encouraging university students to enroll in insurance at their place of study. Women’s rights to participate in basic medical insurance were effectively protected. By the end of 2023, 650 million females were covered by basic medical insurance. Among them, the number of women participating in basic medical insurance for employees was 180 million, an increase of 1.876 million, an increase of 3.951 million from 2022. The number of women participating in basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents was 480 million, representing 49.6 percent of the total participants in basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, an increase of 0.8 percentage points over the end of 2022.
(II) The coverage of basic pension insurance for women continued to expand. Reforms of the pension insurance system were deepened, and nationwide coordination of basic pension insurance for enterprise employees was promoted. Continuous improvements were made to the basic pension insurance system covering all urban and rural residents, further expanding women’s access to basic pension insurance. By the end of 2023, 520 million women participated in basic pension insurance, an increase of 13.403 million over the end of 2022. Among them, 250 million women participated in basic pension insurance for urban workers and 270 million women participated in basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents, an increase of 12.617 million and 786,000 respectively.
(III) The number of women covered by maternity, unemployment and work-related injury insurance continuously increased. The implementation of maternity insurance policies and measures was actively promoted, in addition to expanding unemployment insurance coverage and developing innovative approaches to work-related injury insurance enrollment. Women’s rights to various types of insurance were steadily reinforced. By the end of 2023, the number of women covered by maternity insurance was 109 million, an increase of 1.301 million over the end of 2022. The number of people covered by unemployment insurance reached 104 million, an increase of 4.047 million. The number of people covered by work-related injury insurance reached 116 million, an increase of 3.847 million.
(IV) The level of assistance for women in need continued to improve. Efforts to expand and improve the efficiency of social assistance programs such as subsistence allowances continued, ensuring that eligible individuals in need were promptly included in social assistance schemes. The protection and guarantee of women in need was continuously increased. In 2023, per capita subsistence allowances were 785.9 yuan per month for urban residents and 621.3 yuan per month for rural residents, up 4.5 percent and 6.7 percent over 2022 respectively. The number of recipients of subsistence allowances and people living in extreme poverty in urban and rural areas altogether was 45.361 million, among whom 19.761 million were women, accounting for 43.6 percent.
VI. Women and Family Building
(I) Efforts to strengthen marriage and family counseling and education were consistently enhanced. Initiatives to explore premarital counseling were introduced, and work on adjusting marital and family relationships was deepened. The establishment of industry standards such as the Specifications for Marriage and Family Counseling Serviceand the Specifications for Premarital Counseling Service was accelerated to promote healthy development of marital and family relationships. In 2023, 65.3 percent of marriage registration agencies nationwide had provided guidance on marriage and family services, an increase of 14.5 percentage points compared to 2022.
(II) Significant progress was made in the development of family values, family education and family tradition. Efforts to advance family civilization were deepened, actively cultivating family role models and strengthening promotional and educational platforms. These efforts aimed to foster new trends of socialist family civilization. In 2023, women’s federations at all levels commended 33,000 Five-virtue Families and recommended 1.64 million of the most beautiful families at all levels.
VII. Women and the Environment
(I) The safety of drinking water was consolidated and improved. Steady progress was made in shifting from rural drinking water safety to rural water supply assurance. Efforts were intensified to standardize the construction of water source sites and backup water source sites, ensuring the safety of drinking water for both urban and rural areas. In 2023, 96.5 percent of centralized drinking water sources in cities at prefecture level and above met standards, 0.6 percentage points higher than that in 2022. By the end of 2023, access to tap water in rural areas was 90 percent, an increase of 3 percentage points over the end of 2022.
(II) The availability of sanitary latrines in rural areas was continuously increased and promoted. Anormalized, one-on-one, multi-level technical service system for latrine improvement in rural areas was established, accelerating the integration of rural toilet upgrades with domestic sewage treatment. This aimed to improve the quality and effectiveness of rural toilet renovations, thereby continuously enhancing the rural living environment. By the end of 2023, approximately 75 percent of rural residents had access to sanitary toilets, an increase of about 2 percentage points over the end of 2022.
VIII. Women and the Law
(I) Efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence were consistently advanced. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women and theAnti-Domestic Violence Law of the People’s Republic of Chinawere implemented, along with theOpinions on Strengthening the Implementation of the System for Personal Safety Protection Orders. Legal education campaigns were strengthened, and legal assistance for victims of domestic violence was intensified to enhance women’s awareness and ability to protect their rights and interests using legal means. In 2023, 5,223 habeas corpus orders were issued for women.
(II) Crackdowns on illegal and criminal activities targeting women were intensified. Nationwide summer public security campaigns continued, focusing on combating crimes such as human trafficking and organized prostitution. Effective measures were taken to control and severely punish crimes against women. In 2023, 228 cases of abducting and trafficking women were solved throughout the year. 37,000 cases of rape were solved. A total of 19,000 cases of organizing, forcing, luring, sheltering or introducing women to prostitution were cracked.
(III) The quality and effectiveness of public legal services for women continued to improve. The Implementation Measures for the Legal Aid Law of the People's Republic of China were issued to provide higher-quality and more efficient legal aid services for economically disadvantaged citizens. Initiatives such as the “focus on women in difficulty, strengthen special judicial assistance” campaign were conducted to effectively safeguard women’s legitimate rights and interests. By the end of 2023 in China, there were 3,066 legal aid organizations, an increase of 47 from 2022, and 73,000 legal aid work sites, an increase of 813. In 2023, legal aid was provided in 365,000 cases for women, an increase of 47,000, and juridical assistance was provided for 38,000 women by people’s courts, people’s procuratorate and the juridical administration system. Women’s federations at or above county level dealt with 206,000 complaints from women and children.
Notes:
[1] The data released in this report were all on a comparable basis. The totals or relative figures for certain data may be subject to calculation discrepancies due to rounding and differences in the choice of measurement units.
[2] Senior high school education includes regular senior high schools, regular technical secondary schools, technical secondary schools for adults, vocational high schools, affiliated secondary vocational classes, technician training schools and the Secondary Vocational Department of the Open University of China.
[3] Secondary vocational education includes regular technical secondary schools, technical secondary schools for adults, vocational high schools, affiliated secondary vocational classes, and technician training schools.
[4] General undergraduate and college education includes both the regular undergraduate education and the vocational undergraduate and college education.
[5] The gender gap in scientific literacy refers to the difference between the percentage of the population with scientific literacy among all male citizens surveyed at 18-69 and the percentage of the population with scientific literacy among all female citizens surveyed at 18-69. “People With scientific literacy” means people that worship the scientific spirit, set up scientific thought, acquire basic scientific approaches, understand necessary scientific and technological knowledge, and are capable of applying them in making judgments and addressing practical problems.
[6] The occupational health literacy level of female employees refers to the proportion of the number of female employees with basic occupational health literacy in key industries and fields in the secondary and tertiary industries surveyed within the number of all female employees. The criterion for judging the acquisition of basic occupational health literacy is that the female employees in key industries and fields in the secondary and tertiary industries surveyed obtained 80% and above of the full score in the Personal Questionnaire for Monitoring and Surveying Occupational Health Literacy of Key Populations across China, under which circumstances, the employees are considered to have acquired the basic occupational health literacy.