China’s GDP Grew by 3 percent in 2022, Population Declined 0.85 Million

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached RMB 121,020.7 billion (US$17,881.30 billion) in 2022, up three percent year on year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on January 17, 2023.

By industry, the value added of the primary industry was RMB 8,834.5 billion (US$1,305.3 billion), an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous year; the added value of the secondary industry was RMB 48,316.4 billion (US$7,138.9 billion), up by 3.8 percent; the value added of the tertiary industry was RMB 63,869.8 billion (US$9,437.02 billion), up by 2.3 percent.

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On a quarterly basis, China’s GDP grew by 4.8 percent in the first quarter, 0.4 percent in the second quarter, 3.9 percent in the third quarter, and 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP for the fourth quarter stayed the same as that for the third quarter.

Other key stats that businesses should pay attention to include:

Industrial production

• The value added of the high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing went up by 7.4 percent and 5.6 percent respectively, or 3.8 percentage points and 2.0 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.
• The value added of the state-holding enterprises grew by 3.3 percent, that of the share-holding enterprises up by 4.8 percent, that of the enterprises funded by foreign investors and investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan down by 1.0 percent, and that of private enterprises up by 2.9 percent.
• The production of new energy vehicles, mobile communication base stations, and industrial control computers and systems grew by 97.5 percent, 16.3 percent, and 15.0 percent respectively.

Service sector

• The value added of the information transmission, software, and information technology services and that of financial services grew by 9.1 percent and 5.6 percent respectively in the year 2022.
• In the first 11 months, the business revenue of information transmission, software and information technology services, of scientific research and technology services, and of health and social services went up by 8.3 percent, 8.3 percent, and 8.1 percent respectively.
• In December 2022, the Index of Services Production went down by 0.8 percent year on year.

Domestic consumption

• In 2022, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 43,973.3 billion (US$7,383.7 billion), down by 0.2 percent over the previous year.
• The retail sales in urban areas reached RMB 38,044.8 billion (US$5,621.2 billion), down by 0.3 percent; and the retail sales in rural areas stood at RMB 5,928.5 billion (US$875.9 billion), the same as that of the previous year.
• In 2022, the national online retail sales reached RMB 13,785.3 billion (US$2,036.8 billion), growing by 4.0 percent over the previous year. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were RMB 11,964.2 billion (US$1,767.7 billion), up by 6.2 percent, accounting for 27.2 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.
• The income of catering was RMB 4,394.1 billion (US$649.1 billion), down by 6.3 percent.
• The retail sales of food and that of beverages by enterprises above the designated size grew by 8.7 percent and 5.3 percent respectively over the previous year.

Fixed asset investment

• In 2022, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached RMB 57,213.8 billion (US$8,453.5), up by 5.1 percent over the previous year.
• The investment in infrastructure went up by 9.4 percent, manufacturing up by 9.1 percent, and real estate development down by 10.0 percent.
• The floor space of commercial buildings sold declined by 24.3 percent and the total sales of commercial buildings went down by 26.7 percent.
• The private investment went up by 0.9 percent.
• The investment in high-tech industries grew by 18.9 percent, 13.8 percentage points faster than the total investment. Specifically, the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 22.2 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in the manufacturing of medical equipment, measuring instruments, and meters and in electronics and communication equipment manufacturing grew by 27.6 percent and 27.2 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech services, the investment in services for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and in research, development, and design services went up by 26.4 percent and 19.8 percent respectively.

Import-export

• In 2022, the total value of imports and exports of goods was RMB 42,067.8 billion (US$6,215.6 billion), an increase of 7.7 percent over last year.
• The total value of exports was RMB 23,965.4 billion (US$3,540.9 billion), up by 10.5 percent.
• The total value of imports was RMB 18,102.4 billion (US$2,674.7), up by 4.3 percent.
• The trade balance was RMB 5,863.0 billion (US$866.2) in surplus.
• The imports and exports by private enterprises grew by 12.9 percent, accounting for 50.9 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 3 percentage points higher than that of last year.

Inflation

• In 2022, the consumer price went up by 2.0 percent over last year.
• Core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 0.9 percent.
• In 2022, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 4.1 percent over last year and in December, it went down by 0.7 percent year on year and down by 0.5 percent month on month.
• The purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 6.1 percent over last year and in December, it went up by 0.3 percent year on year.

Employment and labor cost

• In December 2022, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.5 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous month. In particular, the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 16 to 24 was 16.7 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than that of the previous month; that for the population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.8 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of the previous month.
• The employees of enterprises worked 9 hours per week on average in the year 2022.
• In 2022, the number of rural migrant workers totaled 295.62 million, 11 million more than that of last year or up by 1.1 percent.
• The average monthly income of migrant workers was RMB 4,615 (US$681.69), up by 4.1 percent over last year.

Resident income and expenditure

• In 2022, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was RMB 36,883 (US$5745.12), a nominal increase of 5.0 percent over that of last year, and a real increase of 2.9 percent after deducting price factors, which was generally at the same pace as the growth of the economy.
• The per capita disposable income of urban households was RMB 49,283 (US$7,281.77), a nominal growth of 3.9 percent and a real growth of 1.9 percent after deducting the price factors.
• The per capita disposable income of rural households was RMB 20,133 (US$2974.73), a nominal growth of 6.3 percent and a real growth of 4.2 percent after deducting price factors.
• In 2022, the nationwide per capita consumption expenditure was RMB 24,538 (US$3,625.59), a nominal growth of 1.8 percent, or a real decline of 0.2 percent after deducting price factors.

Total population

• By the end of 2022, the national population was 1,411.75 million (including the population of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities and servicemen, but excluding residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and foreigners living in the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities), a decrease of 0.85 million over that at the end of 2021.
• In 2022, the number of births was 9.56 million with a birth rate of 6.77 per thousand; the number of deaths was 10.41 million with a mortality rate of 7.37 per thousand the natural population growth rate was minus 0.60 per thousand.
• The population at the working age from 16 to 59 was 875.56 million, accounting for 62.0 percent of the total population; the population aged 60 and over was 280.04 million, accounting for 19.8 percent of the total population; the population aged 65 and over was 209.78 million, accounting for 14.9 percent of the total population.
• The share of the urban population in the total population (urbanization rate) was 65.22 percent, 50 percentage points higher than that at the end of the previous year.

Related Reading

• China’s Economy in 2022: A Tumultuous Year Ending with an Optimistic Outlook 

• China’s Central Economic Work Conference: Policymakers Set Sights on Growth in 2023

• 5 Key Industries to Watch in China in 2023

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