Chinese middle-income earners make up 37.4% of the country's population, according to an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

据中国社会科学院一位专家近日表示，我国中等收入群体占全国总人口的37.4%。

The incomes of urban and rural residents are on the rise, according to Chen Guangjin, head of the Institute of Sociology at CASS.

社科院社会学研究所所长陈光金称，我国城乡居民的收入持续增长。

Chen noted¹ that per capita disposable income increased by 6.3% year on year in the January-September period, with respective rises of 5.7% and 6.5% in urban and rural areas.

陈光金指出，今年1至9月，人均可支配收入同比上涨6.3%，其中城镇居民人均可支配收入同比增长5.7%，农村居民人均可支配收入同比增长6.5%。

From January to September, the average per capita disposable income in urban areas was 2.82 times that in rural areas.

从今年1月至9月，城镇居民人均平均可支配收入是农村居民的2.82倍。

Chen also pointed² out that the Gini coefficient, a widely used indicator³ of economic inequality, has slipped a little bit compared with previous years' data.

陈光金还指出，被广泛使用的反映贫富差距的指标--基尼系数与前些年的数据相比轻微下滑。