Proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reaches 14.14 pct

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reached 14.14 percent in 2023, according to a survey result published by the China Association for Science and Technology Tuesday.

Led by the China Research Institute for Science Popularization, the 13th sample survey of scientific literacy of Chinese citizens showed that the proportion rose 1.21 percentage points from that of 2022.

It shows that China has taken a big leap from comparatively low level to a medium level of citizen scientific literacy, laying a solid foundation of sci-tech human resources for the country to become a leading innovation-oriented country, said Wang Ting, director of the institute.

In 2010, the proportion was just 3.27 percent. In 2020, it grew to 10.56 percent.

He added that more and more Chinese citizens have paid attention to science, learnt about science, and participated in sci-tech innovation activities. Besides learning scientific knowledge, the cultivation of scientific literacy in China has focused on developing scientific way of thinking, using scientific methods and promoting scientific spirit.

China's State Council in 2021 issued an action plan for science literacy of the people (2021-2035), which said the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy will exceed 15 percent by 2025.