Due to the increase in public spending and limited tax revenue due to Covid-19 restrictions, the amount of borrowing by the British government in April exceeded economists’ expectations.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed that net public sector borrowing, excluding public sector banks, was estimated at 31.7 billion pounds last month.
This figure is the first figure for the 2021/2022 fiscal year, the second highest record of borrowing in April since the monthly record began in 1993, but it was 15.6 billion pounds less than the same month last year. The figure is higher than the 30.9 billion pounds expected by economists surveyed by Reuters, but lower than the 39 billion pounds estimated by the Office of Budget Responsibility.
British consumers flocked to newly opened stores to buy clothes and other goods in April, which made retail sales for the month greatly exceeded economists'
Editor s note:
The Pangoal Institution held a symposium, following the release of the results of the seventh census by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, to discuss the turning points the data reveal, the economic signals they send, and the challenges and opportunities they create. Following are excerpts from some experts observations: Commuters on a metro train in Beijing during the morning rush hour, Nov 24, 2020. [Photo/IC]
Targeted urbanization rate will be realized
According to the census data, people living in cities account for 63.89 percent of China s total population, indicating that China s urbanization rate has significantly increased since 2019, and it will achieve the 65 percent urbanization rate during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, as planned.
Is China s birth rate low enough to cause population crisis?
Liu Xin Published: May 13, 2021 12:08 AM
Children play in an adventure playground at a tourist attraction in Nanning, South China s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 1, 2021. Saturday marks the first day of China s five-day May Day holiday. Photo: Xinhua
Now that the 30-page seventh national population census communiqué which contains thousands of figures has been released, what is behind the data and what does it reveal about the true picture of China s demographic changes? How strong should China s population policy adjustment be to cope with the trend? How low is Chinese couple s willingness to have more children, could it be low enough to result in a population crisis a few years from now? And should China reward couples with 1 million yuan ($155,400) for every child they have, as advised by some demographers?
What can we learn from China s 2020 Census?
May 12, 2021, 17:27
The total population of the Chinese mainland increased to 1.4118 billion in 2020, according to data from the seventh national census released by the National Bureau of Statistics on May 11.
The results unsurprisingly revealed that China s population is in an era of low fertility and aging, and the population growth has almost come to a halt.
Since the founding of the People s Republic of China, significant changes have taken place in the number and structure of the population, as well as fertility, mortality, and migration in the last seven decades. China experienced a complete demographic transition in half a century, from high fertility and high mortality to low fertility and low mortality, and recorded a high growth rate in the 1960s and 1970s.