440m Chinese citizens have basic scientific literacy, says survey

Nearly half of Chinese citizens exhibit basic scientific literacy, providing a robust talent reserve for national innovation and development, according to a survey conducted by the China Association for Science and Technology.

The survey, released on Tuesday, revealed that China has a large population "having basic scientific literacy", touching 44 percent last year, which translates to 440 million people aged between 18 and 69.

The survey was the 14th sampling survey of public scientific literacy, a series that began in 1992. It examines citizens' scientific knowledge, scientific methods, scientific spirit and thinking, and applied scientific abilities using a scientific literacy survey questionnaire with a total score of 100 points. It then categorizes people into four groups based on the scores they get.

People scoring 85 points and above qualify as "possessing advanced scientific literacy", indicating a high overall level and balanced development across various dimensions; while those scoring 70 points and above qualify as "possessing scientific literacy", indicating a relatively high overall level with good analytical and problem-solving abilities.

These two groups of people are viewed as the driving force behind the country's innovative development, the association said.

The survey showed that the proportion of Chinese citizens "possessing advanced scientific literacy" was 2.3 percent last year. Those "possessing scientific literacy" reached 15.37 percent, showing a 1.23 percentage point increase compared to 2023, and this achievement signifies that the country has exceeded the development goal outlined in a national action plan for improving the public's scientific literacy from 2021 to 2035, which aimed to attain a scientific literacy rate of 15 percent by this year.

The association also said people achieving a score of over 55 in the scientific literacy assessment are considered as "having basic scientific literacy", which reached 44 percent in 2024.

Those scoring below 55 points are categorized as "having relatively low scientific literacy". The association said this group has a lower overall level and needs to further comprehensively strengthen various aspects of scientific literacy development.