China GDP Grows 5.4% Annually in 14th Five-Year Plan
China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 5.4% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 2, 2026. The report highlights broad-based economic advancements across industry, services, infrastructure, green transformation, and social welfare.
Industrial modernization deepened: value-added of large-scale equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing rose by 8.4% and 9.2% per year, respectively. By end-2025, nearly 90% of large-scale industrial enterprises had undergone digital transformation, and the numerical control rate of key processes in key industries reached 68.6%. The core digital economy sector accounted for over 10.5% of GDP.
Service sector value-added grew 5.8% annually, outpacing overall GDP growth by 0.4 percentage points. Modern services such as information technology and leasing expanded 13.1% and 10.7% yearly. E-commerce turnover hit 46.7 trillion yuan in 2025, up 29.1% from 2020.
Infrastructure saw rapid expansion: 5G base stations reached 4.84 million by end-2025, over five times the 2020 level. High-speed rail operating mileage exceeded 50,000 km, up 32.98% from end-2020. The national comprehensive three-dimensional transport network’s main framework completion rate surpassed 90%.
Domestic demand remained the main engine: domestic demand contributed an average 83.0% to economic growth during the period, with final consumption contributing 58.8%—10 percentage points higher than during the 13th Five-Year Plan. High-tech investment grew 9.9% annually. The urbanization rate of the permanent population reached 67.89% by end-2025, up 4.00 percentage points from end-2020. The urban-rural income ratio narrowed from 2.56 to 2.31.
In international trade, total goods imports and exports rose from 32.2 trillion yuan in 2020 to 45.5 trillion yuan in 2025, averaging 7.1% growth annually. China’s service trade surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2024.
Green transition accelerated: energy consumption per unit of GDP fell by over 16% cumulatively. The share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption rose from 16.0% in 2020 to 21.7% in 2025. New energy vehicle output in 2025 was 10.3 times its 2020 level, and sales of NEVs led the world for 11 consecutive years. Output of solar cells, wind turbines, and bio-based chemical fibers grew 39.6%, 31.3%, and 74.2% annually, respectively. Exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products—the “new three items”—surged 3.5 times from 2020.
Employment remained stable with urban surveyed unemployment at year-end ranging between 5.1% and 5.5%. Per capita disposable income of national residents rose to 43,000 yuan in 2025 from 32,000 yuan in 2020, a real annual increase of 5.4%. The basic pension insurance participation rate exceeded 95%, and basic medical insurance coverage remained at around 95%.
The report also noted that grain output reached 1.43 trillion jin (715 million tons) in 2025, with per capita grain possession of 509 kg, well above the international food security threshold of 400 kg.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Original: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202606/t20260602_1963864.html