As expats living in China, we cannot help but conjecture over many facets of life here; whether X or Y or Z is good or bad or indifferent. However, subjective claims based solely on our own experiences often get broadly categorized as “biased”. Although by no means perfect, one way to add a bit of objectivity to our criticisms and praise is to look at how China compares with the rest of the world, as told through various international rankings and indices.

One of the most important tools for conducting international comparisons is the Human Development Index (HDI), published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Created by economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990 and newly revised in 2011, the HDI is comprised of three major dimensions: life expectancy at birth, mean and expected years of schooling, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. According to the annual report compiled from this index—the Human Development Report for 2011 (HDR 2011)—China ranked 101st out of 187 countries and territories in the world with a score of 0.687 (in between Fiji and Turkmenistan), placing it near the top of the “medium human development” category, just below the “high human development” category. While this current ranking may appear rather unimpressive, it's important to note that China’s HDI value has increased a total of 70% since 1980, or about 1.7% annually. Notably, UNDP even measures the HDI for the first level administrative regions of China. It should not come as much surprise that Shanghai tops the mainland, and generally speaking the HDI is higher in the east and north, while it falls the further west and south you go.

So, how does China do on more specific issues?

Sources: HDR 2011; China HDR 2011; Administrative divisions

1) Gender equality
China ranks 35th out of 146 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) with a value of 0.209, according to the HDR 2011.Using the dimensions of reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market, China is one spot behind the U.K., but a few spots ahead of both the United States and Mexico, two nations that have a higher HDI ranking than China (4th and 57th respectively). The China HDR 2011 notes: “21.3% of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 54.8% of adult women have reached a secondary or higher level of education compared to 70.4% of their male counterparts. Female participation in the labor market is 67.4% compared to 79.7% for men.” Anecdotally, this can be seen with younger women’s expanded role in the workplace and their occupation of positions with higher social status. This seems to be a fairly positive sign, but despite this, there are still lingering cultural norms over the position of women in society; look no further than the “left-over women” phenomenon.

Source: Gender Inequality Index

2) Economy
With an encyclopedia set’s worth of reports on world economic indicators to choose from, there’s certainly no shortage of comparisons that we could discuss here. However, we feel that the nitty-gritty is best left to the experts (and not limited to a brief paragraph), so we’re just going to mention two big items here. First, there’s little doubt that China’s economic clout on the world’s stage will continue to grow in 2013. In early 2011, China overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in the world, in terms of nominal GDP. And while things could certainly change in the next few decades, current forecasts expect China to take the number-one slot away from the United States some time between 2025 and 2030. (As of 2013, US: 14,991,300 million USD and PRC: 7,203,784 million USD). Second, with its growing economic muscle, China is bringing some much-needed capital to indebted countries and companies in Europe and around the world. Most notably, China is playing a major influence in African development. According to Business Insider, China promised $20 billion in investments to 26 African countries in 2012 for mining, drilling for oil and natural gas and railroad construction projects.

Sources: List of Countries by GDP; Investment in Africa

3) Academic standards
China suffered significantly in terms of education when a great majority of teachers and academics were sent out to work in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Since the economic reforms began in the late seventies, education standards across China have risen significantly. The China HDR 2011 states that the “expected” years of schooling have jumped from 8.3 years in 1980 to 11.6 years in 2011, while the “average” years of schooling have improved from 3.7 years in 1980 to 7.5 years in 2011. While still not among the best, this no doubt represents a remarkable improvement. Moreover, in line with the results of the HDI for the first level administrative regions, certain segments of the population are now excelling in international standardized tests. In late 2010, students in Shanghai “stunned experts” by scoring the highest out any country in the entire world on the PISA 2009 tests.

Source: OECD - PISA

4) Pollution
This one is fairly obvious, as anyone in Beijing, Shanghai or any other major city in China can attest. China’s economic leap and increased consumption has lead to a significant increase in pollution. Particularly bad during the winter months due to public heating requirements, China’s air pollution over the past few months has literally been off the charts.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the city of Lanzhou, in Gansu Province holds the dubious distinction of being the second most polluted city in the world in the PM 10 index, right after the Indian city of Ludhiana. Furthermore, out of China’s 500 largest cities, less than 1% meets the environmental standard set by the WHO and seven of the ten most polluted cities in the world are in China.

Source: businessinsider

5) Obesity
China’s new found wealth has also brought a number of problems to the population as a whole. In addition to the aforementioned pollution problem, Chinese people, children paramount among them, are suffering from an increase in obesity rates. However, obesity in China is still significantly lower than many countries in the west. According to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, China ranks 126th out of 177 with an average weight of 133.5 lbs (60 kg), making it a remarkably slender country overall. The real issue is that in many first and second tier cities in the country, waistlines are expanding and obesity is on the rise. Meanwhile, according the World Health Organization (WHO), 45% of men and 32% of women are classified as overweight (having a BMI of 25 or higher) in China. (For sake of comparison, the WHO found 80.5% of American men and 76.7% of American women overweight). For China, the short-term dramatic jump is even more disturbing: from 2005 to 2011 the number of obese people increased by 82 million people.

Sources: Telegraph; WHO ; US-China Today

6) Wealth Disparity
The wealth gap is commonly misinterpreted simply as: “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” However, according to the UN’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012, wealth disparity more accurately means “the rich are getting richer faster, while the poor are missing out on most of this rising prosperity.” Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in China. Between 1990 and 2009 China’s per capita household expenditure increased by a staggering 92 %, compared to only 18% globally. The other edge of the economic sword has caused inequality to flourish in China. The bad news for China, is that when “inequality” measurements are factored in— essentially meaning that not everyone has access to the same quality of life in a given country—its HDI value drops about 22.3% to 0.534. Not surprisingly, China’s single biggest loss in this respect comes from inequality in income, according to the China HDR 2011.

Source: Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012

7) Corruption
To end on a slightly depressing note, we will take a look at China’s ranking on Transparency International’s Global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 176 countries. According to the 2012 index, published last December, China was ranked 80th (first place reflecting the lowest levels of public sector corruption), falling five places from 75th in 2011. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for first place, while North Korea, Somalia and Afghanistan all tied for last place. America ranked 19th, Japan ranked 17th and Russia ranked 133rd. Transparency International also publishes an annual Bribe Payer Index that measures the likelihood for foreign companies to bribe government officials in the country. To anyone that has done business in China or ever had to give someone a hong bao, it should come of no surprise that China was ranked 27th out of 28 countries.

Source: transparency.org
 

Related links
Globalization 3.0 and Beyond: What’s Next for China’s Economy?
Foreign Wealth Disparity in China: Income, Perception & Cost of Living
If China’s Fiscal Revenue is Booming, Why Aren’t Most People Better Off?

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Keywords: China International Rankings