The per capita disposable income of urban households last year was 21,810 yuan, while the per capita net income of rural households was 6,977 yuan.

The World Bank estimated that China's Gini coefficient had reached 0.47 in 2009, higher than the internationally accepted threshold of 0.4, which indicates income inequality may threaten social stability.

Yi Xianrong, a researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, suggested that the government introduce regulations to ensure the transparency of income information.

"The public have a right to know the Gini coefficient," Yi said.

Wu Muluan, a researcher with the City University of Hong Kong, said that more high-quality statistical data can "help enhance rational decision-making and achieve the maximum welfare of society".

More projects

Another international project that the NBS is involved in is the International Comparison Program (ICP) that started last year, Xie said.

The ICP collects prices of goods and services to calculate the purchasing power of different currencies. It helps compare the output of economies and the welfare of their inhabitants in real terms allowing adjustment for different price levels.

"This is the first time that China officially joined the ICP. We have the capacity to collect and process data according to ICP requirements," Xie said.

"So far it is going well and the results are expected to come out in 2013."

In addition, the NBS plans to start more cooperative programs with the Federal Statistical Office of Germany to improve the gathering of industrial statistics.

"We will also improve communication with statistical institutions in emerging countries, including Russia, India and Brazil," Xie said.

The NBS provides regular data, including figures on population, energy and consumer prices, to more than 20 global institutions.

"As China is playing an increasingly important role in the world's economy, many international organizations are paying more attention to our economic statistics," Xie said.