The numbers making news during the week of August 6, 2012

1.8 percent
China’s CPI growth in July; the lowest rate of growth in 29 months. Economic Observer

$31
The amount per day a man convicted of illegal demolitions allegedly paid another person to serve his prison time for him. The practice of hiring “body doubles” to serve prison time is well-documented by official Chinese media. Slate

62 Percent
China is 62 percent complete on its road to back to world superpower status, according to an index created by Yang Yiyong, director of the Institute for Social Development under the NDRC. Offbeat China

2008
The year Minxin Pei argues might be considered the peak of China’s rise, which has started to go downhill since. The Diplomat

112
Number of people dead with another 21 still missing in Beijing and Hebei from the July 21 rainstorm. CRI Online (Chinese)

1.16 billion yuan
Worth of counterfeit drugs that were seized by police with 1,900 people arrested in a government crackdown across China – the world’s fastest growing pharmaceuticals market. Bloomberg BusinessWeek

5 million yuan
The cost of each gold medal when you consider the 10 million yuan total cost of grooming Chinese Olympic swimming star Sun Yang. Wall Street Journal

40 Times
South Korean farmers are 40 times more productive than their Chinese counterparts due to a much greater use of mechanical farming equipment. Farmland in China is mostly owned at the village level and cannot be mortgaged, which is seriously impacting agricultural growth and productivity. Business Insider

39^th
China’s current ranking in the Olympic gold medal count when you calculate medals per-capita. USA sits in 22^nd place, Grenada in 1^st. Medalspercapita.com