LHASA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- What are the changes that
have taken place in the snow-covered plateau region of Tibet, since the
autonomous region's peaceful liberation in 1951? Here are some key facts and
figures about Tibet:
Fiscal income: The
government of Tibet Autonomous Region broke the first zero record in fiscal
income in 1988. It realized 2.3 billion yuan (328 million U.S. dollars) in
fiscal income in 2007.
Health care: The averaged life
expectancy of Tibetan people increased from 35.5 years before Tibet's democratic
reform in 1959 to 67 years now. Death in childbirth figures fell from 5,000 in
every 100,000 pregnant women before 1950s to 247.49 in every 100,000 pregnant
women. Tibet now has 1,343 medical institutions employing 9,095 medical workers.
Among them, 4,270 have licenses to practise medicine. The rate of hospital beds
and medical staff per 1,000 people has reached 2.64 and 3.2, respectively.
According to the regional health department, 100 percent of farmers and herders
are covered by the medical care system.
Population and Welfare: The Tibetan
population increased slowly before 1950s, when there was barely any welfare
protection for ordinary Tibetans. The Tibetan population had stayed at around
one million for nearly 200 years before 1950. A census by the regional
government in 1953 showed the population at one million, an increase of 58,000
people in 200 years. The latest census showed that the total population in Tibet
reached 2.8 million by the end of 2007, which was 31,500 people more than the
previous year, and double that before 1950. So far, 330,000 township residents
in Tibet have been covered by social insurance.
Education: There was no public
education in old Tibet, when less than two percent of school-aged children had
access to school education, and the illiteracy rate among work-aged people past
95 percent. At present, six-year compulsory education has been put into practice
in all 73 counties in Tibet. Sixty-three counties have passed state appraisal in
basically realizing nine-year compulsory education and basically eliminating
illiteracy among work-aged people. The nine-year compulsory education has
covered 90.2 percent of children in these counties, where the quality of
compulsory education has been improving. So far, the enrollment rate in primary
schools, junior high schools, senior high school, and higher-learning institutes
have reached 98.2 percent, 90.7 percent, 42.96 percent and 17.4 percent,
respectively. The illiteracy rate among work-aged people dropped to 4.76
percent.
Social life: Based on statistics
from the old Tibet authority, some 90 percent of Tibetan people did not have
their own housing property. Nowadays, nearly all Tibetans live in permanent
houses, except for nomads in pasture areas. To further improve the living
standard of Tibetans, a government-sponsored program has helped build new houses
for 114,000 households or 570,000 farmers and herdsmen since 2006. The
per-capita income of farmers and herdsmen amounted to 2,788 yuan (398 U.S.
dollars) last year, and that of township residents rose to 11,131 yuan (1,590
U.S. dollars). The 2006 statistics showed that there were 143,900 units of
private vehicles, up 35.2 percent over the previous year. Based on the
population of 2.81 million in the corresponding period, one in every 20 Tibetans
had an automobile.
Economy and social development:
There was no industry in old Tibet, while agricultural development was also
stagnant. By 2007, grain production areas in Tibet were added up to 171,770
hectares, which were 110 hectares more than that of 2006. The industrial added
value in 2007 soared by 17.1 percent year-on-year to 2.57 billion yuan (367
million U.S. dollars). The region received 4.02 million visitors in 2007, up 60
percent over the year-ago period. Revenues from the tourism industry chalked up
4.8 billion yuan (686 million U.S. dollars), up 73.3 percent year-on-year. The
tourist income accounted for 14.2 percent of the region's gross domestic product
in 2007, 4.6 percentage points higher than that of 2006.
Transportation, post and telecommunications,
communications: There was no road in old Tibet. Last year, there were
48,611 kilometers of roads open for traffic in the region, which were 3,798
kilometers longer than the record in 2006. There were modern communications
available in old Tibet. However, by the end of last year, the number of
subscribers for both fixed phones and mobile phones registered 1.44 million,
155,200 more than the year-ago figure. The telephone access rate post 52 in
every 100 people.
Democratic rights: In 1961, a
general election, the first of its kind in Tibetan history, was held all over
Tibet. For the first time, the former serfs and slaves were able to enjoy
democratic rights as their own masters. Since the founding of the regional
government in 1965, Tibetans have exercised their rights bestowed by the
Constitution and laws to elect and be elected. The organ of self-government of
the Tibet Autonomous Region has been elected and led mainly by Tibetans and
people of other ethnic groups. According to figures from the region’s personnel
department, 69.36 percent of leaders in the regional government or 62,211 were
Tibetans and people from other ethnic groups, while, Tibetans and other ethnic
people constituted 74.39 percent of professionals in the region.
Culture: China has earmarked 700
million yuan (100 million U.S. dollars) from the state budget for preservation
of cultural relics in Tibet. Over 4,000 religious spots have been preserved and
open to public. The budget for the purpose this year was set at 570 million yuan
(81 million U.S. dollars), which will be used for preservation work at 22
cultural sites. Among 4,000 cultural workers in art troupes and institutions, 90
percent are Tibetans, a large number of whom are young talents.
