Beijing, June 16 : A social researcher in China has revealed that at the end of 2008, China''s urban population had surged to 607 million with an urbanization rate of 45.7 percent.

According to Shan Jingjing of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the urban population in the country has increased by 148 million since 2000, which is almost level with the rural population in the most populous nation in the world.

"During the early 1980s, the rural population accounted for nearly 80 percent of the total. The urban surge reflected economic growth and internal labor movements, including 130 million migrant workers who left rural homes to work in the cities," Xinhua quited Shan, as saying.

According to the Blue book published by CASS on Monday, Urbanization had not narrowed income gaps. The urban: rural income ratio averaged about 5 in 2008 by contrast with the gap in 2000 when the ratio was 2.79.

With rapid urbanization, China was also encountering various challenges amidst the global economic crisis, which has had a serious impact in the country.

"One of the challenges will be unemployment. According to research on 15 enterprises in five provinces, job vacancies have decreased by 5.3 percent since the end of March," Shan said.

"The unemployment situation would be worsened by China''s huge labour pool with an annual 15 million new job hunters and some 6 million college graduates" he added. (ANI)