From QQ:

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences [CASS] reports that 70% of residents believe prices are too high, 40% can’t afford housing

[Translation of above chart:]

Top 10 Issues of Public Focus in 2011

Soaring Commodity Prices 59.5% Health Care Availability and Prices 42.9% Income and Wealth Gap 31.6% Governmental Corruption 29.3% Unemployment 24.2% Housing Prices 24% Retirement Pension for the Elderly 16.6% Food Safety 15.9% Education Costs 10.9% Environmental Pollution 10.3%

Nearly 70% of Chinese citizens feel the pressure of “soaring commodity prices affecting the quality of life”. Yesterday [December 19th], the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences initiated “China Intelligence” and published the “2011 China Comprehensive Social Conditions Survey”.

Raw data available online for free

According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, “China Intelligence” integrated the resources of the academy, and established the basic shape of a uniform, interconnected, and shared database. According to a representative, the original data for “China Intelligence” is made freely available to the public. Just go onto their website, register, and once the registration is approved, they can access the original data.

Yesterday, “China Intelligence” published the “The 2011 China Comprehensive Social Conditions Survey”. The survey was done with random samples from 5 major cities, 100 counties and 480 villages in 28 provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the central government, where 6468 citizens — all over 18 years old and living in both cities and rural areas – were surveyed.

40% of residents believe “housing conditions are poor”

According to the survey, in 2011, 75.3% of those surveyed believe the standard of living has risen compared to five years ago, and rural resident incomes are evidently higher than those of urban residents. Surveys measuring the life pressures of residents’ indicates that nearly 70% of the public feels the pressure of “soaring commodity prices affecting the quality of life”, though this is a 10% decline from 2008. Nearly 40% of those surveyed believe that “housing conditions are poor, can’t afford to build/purchase housing”.

Apart from this, “China Intelligence” also conducted relevant research into Chinese family/household happiness. Most participants gave a relatively high score to their sense of happiness, and the average score is 7.2.

Comments from QQ:

腾讯衡阳市网友 ☆ギ阳洋の:

CASS zhuan jia [false experts], how about doing an internet survey with the entire country’s netizens? Brother [referring to self] will first testify: My monthly income is about 6,000 RMB, but where I am I still can’t afford an apartment. Those friends who can’t afford a house please just click [the support/upvote button on this comment], and those who can I won’t trouble.

腾讯邢台市网友 天空:

Can’t you do something more real/practical? 40%? Come on, it’s at least 80%, okay?!! Both my spouse and I have jobs, but there isn’t much left each month after daily necessities and the kid’s education. And then I think about [the situation for] those who don’t even have a job. How did you do your calculations? Did you only count the high-income group, whereas us taxpayers were of no use to you?

腾讯杭州市网友 羽过天情:

I really don’t know where this data came from. 40% of those over 18 years old can’t afford [housing]? Even if that data is accurate, of those aged between 18 and 35 years old, 90% of them, I suspect, can’t afford housing.

腾讯网友 该用户不在线:

I don’t wanna say it, but I’ll just say it: [This data] is better than those from the Bureau of Statistics, but are also empty.

腾讯齐齐哈尔市网友 细雨霏霏:

If farmers taken out, the percentage of city dwellers who can’t afford housing should be 80%.

腾讯徐州市网友 秋凉:

40% can’t afford housing? Who are you cheating? It’s more than 80%, such a survey is meaningless.

腾讯网友 •清清河••:

Doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, either way I believe it; I just don’t know what portion [of the people] were surveyed, and whether they reflect the true conditions of the nation.

腾讯网友 缘外:

Only 40% can’t afford a house?! Heh heh! Where did these false experts collect their data?

腾讯合肥市网友 □星媛心声:

Don’t know how the CASS conducted the survey!!! 40% is seriously distorted!!! Divided by 2 perhaps; it should be 80%. Really don’t know what kind of people were doing the research. Of 1.3 billion people, only more than 6000 were surveyed. Don’t make the data public if you don’t have complete data. If you don’t do the job, I can still tolerate it, but don’t mess around. This will damage your image!!!

腾讯南京市网友 阿木:

College graduates like us who just graduated two years ago earn 30,000 [RMB] a year, and minus 20,000 for living expenses, each year we can only save up to 10,000, and that’s without getting sick or having something big come up. According to this situation, even if we say an apartment costs 900,000 yuan, I have to keep earning money for at least 90 years. I’m 26 years old this year, and I have to work until I’m 116 years old before I can afford a house, and that’s without taking into account mortgage interest… If interest is calculated in, I think it’s resting in peace [to die] before I’m 150 years old is basically impossible…

What about you? What were the most important issues of your life in 2011?