1. It is said that 1 in 10 babies in Tibet die within the first 28 days of life and maternal death rates are amongst the highest in the world.¹
2. When a Tibetan mother dies her surviving children are 3 to 10 times more likely to die within 2 years and those that do survive are much less likely to attend school or complete their educations.”²
3. In an unpublished 1989 survey conducted by the People’s Republic of China in 16 Tibetan counties, the mortality rate among infants was 92 per 1000 in the Tibetan counties, as compared with 68 per 1000 in the rest of China; the mortality rate among children less than five years old was 127 per 1000, as compared with 84 per 1000; and the maternal mortality rate was 73 per 10,000, as compared with 20 per 10,000.³
4. Tibetans has the lowest life expectancy of any rural area in China. They also have lowest HDI (Human Development Index), and the highest illiteracy rates for both males and females for any province of China.⁴
5. Official Chinese government data from the 2000 census showed that illiteracy among all Tibetans, from all areas, aged 15 years and above was 48% overall, and 60% for women.⁵
6. According to data collected in a recent survey conducted by research centers in Norway and China,
   1. 59% of all Tibetans outside of the TAR could not read or write in any language.
   2. Only 13% of Tibetans now have more that a primary school education.
   3. 27% of Tibetans between 15 and 25 have not completed 5th grade.
   4. 35% of children between 7 and 14 are not in school.
   5. 37% of girls are not in school.
   6. 40% of Tibetans do not have easy access to a school.
   7. On average Tibetans only complete 2.2 years of schooling.⁶
7. The United Nations’ 2005 National Human Rights Development Report places education in the “TAR” as worst among all 31 Chinese provinces. It estimates that 55% of Tibetans are illiterate while the rest of China has illiteracy rates below 20%.⁷
8. Comparision of China and Tibet
   • Primary school enrollment in China in 2000, in percentage: 93
   • Average primary school enrollment in developing countries: 82
   • Percent of adults in China who were literate in 2002: 85.8
   • Average percent of literate adults in developing countries: 75
   • Percent of youth in China who were literate in 2002: 98
   • Average percent of literate youth in developing countries: 85

   But Educational Inequality Persists

   • Percent illiteracy rate in Tibet Province: 50
   • Percent illiteracy rate in Beijing and Shanghai: 3
   • Percent of students in Tibet enrolled in junior high school: 1.5
   • Percent of students in Beijing and Shanghai enrolled in junior high school: 60.68
9. A news conference held by the State Council Information Office announced that, in 2006, the per capita GDP of urban dwellers in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), reached 10,396 Yuan – ~$1,500. The net per capita income of farmers reached 2,435 Yuan – $350. To be admitted to the hospital in Lhasa a Tibetan must deposit a cash equivalent of about $200 US or regardless of their condition they will not be admitted even if it means their death.
10. Tibetans have the lowest life expectancy of any rural area in China. They also have lowest HDI (Human Development Index), and the highest illiteracy rates for both males and females for any province of China.⁸

¹ One Heart Foundation – http://onehearttibet.org/
² Ibid.
³ New England Journal of Medicine, February 1, 2001, Vol. 5, Volume 344:341-347
⁴ UNDP Human Development Report, China 2005
⁵ Tibet: A Human Development and Environment Report, Central Tibetan Administration 2006
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ United Nations Development Program, www.undp.org
⁸ UNDP Human Development Report, China 2005