China's science popularization workforce expands

China's science popularization workforce continued to expand, reaching 2.25 million in 2025, up 1.72 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Among them, 311,200 were full-time professionals, while 1.94 million worked part time. Female workers numbered 1.06 million, up 2.93 percent from 2024, while the number of registered science popularization volunteers reached 13.71 million.

Financial investment in science popularization also increased steadily, with public fiscal spending playing a leading role. In 2025, total funding raised for national science outreach reached 24.4 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), up 9.80 percent from 2024, with government allocations at all levels accounting for 80 percent of the total. Per capita special funding for science popularization reached 6.01 yuan, an increase of 0.41 yuan.

According to the statistics, the funds were channeled into areas including science popularization activities, the construction and upgrading of science venues, and the development of exhibits.

The layout of science popularization infrastructure continued to improve, with steady progress in venue construction and service delivery. By the end of 2025, China had 1,988 science and technology museums and science-themed museums, an increase of 98 from 2024. Their total exhibition area reached 7.27 million square meters, up 5.42 percent, while they attracted 338 million visits during the year, an increase of 10.96 percent.

The data highlights China's sustained efforts to strengthen its science communication ecosystem, providing a solid foundation for improving public science literacy, narrowing the urban-rural knowledge gap and promoting the integration of science and culture.