ABSTRACT
The results and the analysis of data of the 1997 Census, as we have seen, are important and relevant for their economic and policy implications. This is particularly true if we consider the differences between provinces and counties. Since the future development pattern of China will result in a gradual reduction of the agricultural labour force, to a different extent among macro-regions, provinces and counties, it is worthwhile to make some first analysis on the changing importance of agricultural labour force. Considering the three macro-regions, the proportion of the labour force engaged in agricultural activities is 66 per cent for the eastern area and about 80 per cent and 85 per cent for the provinces of the middle and western areas respectively (see Table 1 and Figure 1). There is also a large variation between provinces, from a minimum figure for agricultural employment in Shanghai (31 per cent) and Beijing (39 per cent), to a maximum in Tibet (95 per cent) (see Figure 1) We will see in the next section that such differences are more relevant at county level.
