Indicators of economy in China

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the gross domestic product in China in 2020 increased from 14.280 trillion US dollars to 14.688 trillion US dollars. Certainly, there have been shifts in numerous sectors of the economy, but a 2.9 percent increase has been rather unusual this year. While most countries have suffered significant losses, China has certainly held its own. The unemployment rate rose from 4.6 to 5.0 percent. The inflation rate fell from 2.9 percent previously to 2.4 percent by the end of 2020.

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in China is 990 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. However, the prices of consumer goods are also around 42.4 percent lower than in the USA. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in China than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 70.9 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2022

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, China ranked 11th in 2022 with 55.3 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 297 originate from China. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 10 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 2: ICBC (Beijing)
Rank 5: China Construction Bank (Beijing)
Rank 8: Agricultural Bank of China (Beijing)
Rank 13: Bank of China (Beijing)
Rank 17: Ping An Insurance Group (Shenzhen)
Rank 21: PetroChina (Beijing)
Rank 24: China Merchants Bank (Shenzhen)
Rank 28: Tencent Holdings (Shenzhen)
Rank 30: Postal Savings Bank Of China (PSBC) (Beijing)
Rank 33: Alibaba Group (Hangzhou)

Development of gross domestic product in trillions of USD 1960 - 2021

Imports and Exports 2021

Development of imports and exports in billions of USD 1982 - 2021