In 1978, the number of rural poor stood at 250 million (as defined by the Chinese poverty line) but, in the first 10 years of reforms, this number already declined to 96 million in 1988. The poverty headcount declined by 154 million. In the next 10 years of reforms from 1989 to 1999, the poverty headcount declined by only 62 million. This was a fraction of what China achieved in the 1980s.
