Information to serve as source when creating policies to aid the needy

The central government will compile a national database to better analyze the numbers of Chinese who live in poverty, a senior anti-poverty official said on Wednesday.

The database, which will be regularly updated, particularly with information about the rural poor, will help in shaping policies for individual households and villages, Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said at a meeting with top legislators in Beijing.