Index reveals China's top cities for social development

Beijing ranks first in social development among Chinese cities, followed by Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to an index unveiled in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The top 10 cities in the index were Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu and Tianjin. The China City Social Development Index in the New Era was released by the Institute of Social Work and Social Policy at East China University of Science and Technology. This is the fifth time since 2018 the university has released the list.

This year, the urban social development indicator system of the index includes seven first-level indicators and 45 second-level indicators, evaluating 297 Chinese cities from multiple perspectives.

The seven first-level indicators include economic development and people's livelihood construction, population development and social potential, ecological civilization and environmental governance, social governance and social services, education, culture and technological innovation, public health and social security and social assistance.

According to the research group, the indicator system focuses on urban economic development and people's livelihood construction, education, culture, and technological innovation based on long-term attention to urban social governance, social security, public health care and ecological civilization. It also pays attention to the supporting role of long-term balanced population development for sustainable economic and social development.

Shanghai performs well in economic development and people's livelihood construction, social governance and social services, education, culture and technological innovation, public health and residents' health, and social security and social assistance, ranking second only to Beijing.

However, the negative natural population growth rate, aging population and the lack of scale advantage of college students are regarded as the weak points of the city.