In 2011, both urban and rural residents saw growth in average per capita consumer spending. Although growth in rural residents' per capita consumer spending outpaced that of urban residents, the absolute difference between urban and rural residents in consumer spending continued to widen. Urban residents' consumption level was remarkably higher and their consumption pattern much better than those of rural residents.

1. Differences between urban and rural residents in consumption level Average per capita consumer spending by urban residents amounted to 15,161 yuan in 2011, up 1,689 yuan or a nominal growth of 12.5% from the previous year. The growth rate was 2.7 percentage points higher than the previous year.

Spending by rural residents averaged 5,221 yuan per capita, up 839 yuan or a nominal growth of 19.2%. The growth rate was 9.5 percentage points higher than the previous year.

The relative difference between urban and rural residents in consumption level narrowed. The ratio between urban and rural residents in average per capita consumer spending narrowed from 3.07:1 in 2010 to 2.90:1 in 2011.

But the absolute difference continued to widen between urban and rural residents in consumption level. The average per capita consumer spending by urban residents was 9,940 yuan higher than that of rural residents in 2011, a further widening of 850 yuan than the previous year.

2. Difference between urban and rural residents in Engel's coefficient Although both urban and rural residents saw steady income growth, food prices also rose quickly. As a result, the percentage of urban residents' average per capita spending on food in their total average per capita consumer spending (the Engel's coefficient) rebounded. The Engel's coefficient for rural residents, however, declined slightly.

In 2011, urban residents spent on average 5,506 yuan per capita on food, pushing Engel's coefficient up to 36.3%, 0.6 percentage points higher than the previous year. Rural residents spent on average 1,801 yuan per capita on food, driving Engel's coefficient down to 40.4%, 0.7 percentage points lower than the previous year.

The coefficient for urban residents was 4.1percentage points lower than that for rural residents, narrowing the difference by 1.3 percentage points from the previous year (Figure 27).

3. Differences between urban and rural residents in consumption pattern With the steady increase in residents' income, the development of urban construction and social public undertakings, and the implementation of policies to stimulate consumption, urban residents saw their consumption level raised and their consumption pattern optimized in 2011.

The proportion of average per capita consumption of various categories of goods and services by urban residents to their total consumption was as follows: food (36.3%), transportation and communication (14.2%), education, culture and recreation (12.2%), clothing (11%), housing (9.3%), household equipment and services (6.7%) and medical treatment and health care (6.4%).

Urban residents' consumption pattern was fast being upgraded to the needs of development and recreation. Urban residents' consumption pattern showed the following main features:

1) Their spending on food, clothing and other daily necessities grew at a faster pace, and the expenses took up a bigger share of their total consumer spending. Spending in this category averaged 7,181 yuan per capita, up 14.9% from the previous year. The growth rate was 6.5 percentage points higher than the previous year. The proportion of this category to the total consumer spending was 1 percentage point higher compared to the previous year.

2) Growth in expenses on medical treatment and health care rebounded significantly and the expenses took up a smaller share of total consumer spending. Urban residents each paid 969 yuan on average for medical treatment and health care in 2011, 11.1% higher than the previous year, a growth rate 9.3 percentage points higher. Its proportion to the total consumer spending fell by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year.

3) Growth in expenses on transportation and communication and on education, culture and recreation varied, so did their shares in total consumer spending. Urban residents each paid 2,150 yuan on average for transportation and communication, 8.4% higher than the previous year, a growth rate 9.5 percentage points lower.

Per capita spending on education, culture and recreation averaged 1,852 yuan, up 13.8%, a growth rate 3.3 percentage points higher.

The proportion of spending on transportation and communication to the total consumer spending was half a percentage point lower than the previous year. For spending on education, culture and recreation, its proportion was 0.1 percentage points higher.

4) Growth in spending on housing slowed and share in total consumer spending fell. Urban residents each paid 1,405 yuan on average for housing, 5.5% higher than the previous year, a growth rate 2.9 percentage points lower. The proportion of spending on housing to total consumer spending was 0.6 percentage points lower than the previous year.

With the rapid increase in their income and the implementation of policies to spur consumption in rural areas, plus inflation, spending of rural residents registered rapid growth. In 2011, the proportion of average per capita consumption of various categories of goods and services by rural residents to their total consumption was as follows: food (40.4%), housing (18.4%), transportation and communication (10.5%), medical treatment and health care (8.4%), education, culture and recreation (7.6%), and household equipment and services (5.9%).

Rural residents saw their consumption pattern improved step by step. Changes in consumption pattern of rural residents showed the following main features:

1) Their expenses on daily necessities continued to grow. Their share in total consumer spending was 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous year.

2) Housing conditions were improved and spending on housing continued to rise at a faster pace. Average per capita housing area was 36.2 square meters, 6.3% larger than the previous year. Rural residents' expenditure on housing averaged 962 yuan per capita, up 15.1%. The growth rate was 11.3percentage points higher than the previous year.

3) Growth in expenses on transportation and communication grew faster. Rural residents each paid 547 yuan on average for transportation and communication, 18.6% more than the previous year. The growth rate was 4.2 percentage points higher than the previous year.

4) Growth in spending on education, culture and recreation and on medical treatment and health care continued to rise. Average per capita spending on education, culture and recreation was 396 yuan, 8.1% higher than the previous year, a growth rate 0.4 percentage points higher. Its proportion to total consumer spending was 0.8 percentage points lower than the previous year.

Rural residents each paid 437 yuan on average for medical treatment and health care, up 34%. The growth rate was 20.6 percentage points higher. Its proportion to total consumer spending was 1 percentage point higher than the previous year.

The changes in the consumption pattern of urban and rural residents continued to show fairly strong similarities in 2011. But the absolute difference in spending continued to widen. The consumption level of urban residents was notably higher than that of their rural counterparts.

4. Differences between urban and rural residents in food consumption In 2011, fairly big differences remained between urban and rural residents in their food consumption level and consumption pattern. While urban residents continued to upgrade their food consumption with regard to diversity, nutrition balance and health safety, their rural counterparts were still shifting from food adequacy to nutrition.

In terms of consumption of staple food, average direct consumption of cereals per capita for urban residents was 80.7 kilograms, 0.8 kilograms lower than the previous year. Rural residents each consumed 170.7 kilograms of cereals on average, 10.7 kilograms lower than the previous year.

Average per capita vegetable consumption for urban and rural residents was 114.6 kilograms and 89.4 kilograms respectively, down 1.5 kilograms and 3.9 kilograms respectively.

Meanwhile, average per capita consumption of pork, beef and mutton stood at 24.6 kilograms for urban residents and 16.3 kilograms for rural residents, a rise of 0.1 kilograms and 0.5 kilograms respectively.

Average consumption of poultry eggs was 10.1kilograms and 5.4 kilograms per capita respectively for urban and rural residents, up 0.1 kilograms and 0.3 kilograms respectively.

Consumption of edible vegetable oil was 9.3 kilograms and 7.5 kilograms respectively for urban and rural residents, up 0.5 kilograms and 1.2 kilograms respectively (Figure 28 and Figure 29).

5. Differences between urban and rural residents in consumption of household durable goods Consumption of household durable goods by both urban and rural residents continued to rise in 2011. In urban areas, ordinary household electrical appliances had almost reached saturation point. The consumption of medium-grade appliances and high-grade durable goods grew faster. At the end of the year, there were on average for every 100 urban households 135.2 color TV sets, down 1.6% from the previous year; 97.1 washing machines, up 0.2%; 97.2 refrigerators, up 0.6%; 122 air conditioners, up 8.8%; 60.7 microwave ovens, up 2.9%; 205.3 mobile phones, up 8.7%; 81.9 personal computers, up 15%; 18.6 family cars, up 42%; and 9.4 video cameras, up 14.6%.

Household durable goods were upgraded at a faster pace for rural households and ownership of medium- and high-grade durable goods continued to grow rapidly. At the end of the year, there were on average for every 100 rural households 115.5color TV sets, up 3.3% from the previous year; 61.5 refrigerators, up 36.1%; 62.6 washing machines, up 9.2%; 179.7 mobile phones, up 31.6%; 60.9 motorbikes, up 3.2%.

Fairly wide gaps remained between urban and rural residents in the number of durable goods they had, and the consumption level and pattern of rural residents obviously lagged behind those of urban residents.