Beijing: China has raised its official poverty line, causing more people to qualify as poor despite its booming economy.
It announced a near doubling of its previous poverty line to about $1 a day on Tuesday. That means 128 million Chinese now qualify as poor, or 100 million more than under the previous amount.
The new poverty line is still below the World Bank's level of $1.25 a day, but the change brings China closer to international norms after three decades of buoyant growth.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 09:48