Women in Shanghai can expect to live an average life of 81.81 years, according to a 2003 Shanghai Women and Children's Development report.

The report was published on December 29 at a women and children's work meeting addressed by Vice Mayor Yan Junqi.

The report reveals that Shanghai women have enjoyed improvements in education, economy, administration, health, and social security in the past year.

For example, 45 percent of the city's technical professionals are females, up 2.3 percent from last year, and more than half of the students studying at local higher education institutions are women.  Nearly 500,000 local females use the libraries.

In 2003, the birth rate of Shanghai was 0.43 percent, a record low in the city's history. The mortality rate of the newborns remained low, on a par with that of some developed countries.

(Shanghai Daily December 31, 2004)