Impact of Uneven Development (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

• China has a wide variation in GDP per capita by province
• Beijing and Shanghai have GDP per capita of over US$23,000
• Four provinces all along the east coast have GDP per capita over US$13,000
• The province of Gansu has the lowest GDP of US$4936

China GDP per Capita by Province

• The provinces along the east coast can be regarded as the economic core of China
• Most secondary and tertiary economic activity is located there
• The economic periphery is to the west and far north-east of China:
  • Includes the Gobi and Takla Makan Deserts
  • Plateau of Tibet - mountainous region including the Himalayas

Social Impacts

• The development gap can be seen in a range of areas affecting human welfare:
  • 17 million people are still living on about US$2.30 a day
  • Over 90% of people living in poverty live in rural areas
  • The standard of housing is often poor
  • Increasing numbers of people are being moved to apartment blocks to free up land for factories
  • Over 25% of rural households have access to piped water
  • Literacy rates in rural areas are 65% whereas in urban areas they are 84%
• Regional inequality has led to significant rural-urban migration in China

• In some areas the rate of unemployment in rural areas is over 30%:
  • Leads to increased poverty
• Difficult to attract businesses to these regions
• The periphery is more dependent on primary economic activities

• Only 15% of rural sewage is collected and treated properly
  • This leads to water contamination and disease
• Use of biomass for cooking and heating increases indoor air pollution
• Lead, zinc and other mining waste increase water pollution
• Small industries such as those that process electronic waste don't dispose of the waste safely
• More than 40% of China's land is degraded from over-cultivation, overgrazing and erosion
• 19% of farmland is contaminated by heavy metals and chemical pollutants