I. Grain production reaches a new high, and livestock production maintains steady growth.

For the entire year, the nation’s total grain output reached 706.5 million tons, an increase of 11.09 million tons, or 1.6%, over the previous year. Among these, summer grain production amounted to 149.89 million tons, up 2.6%; early rice production was 28.17 million tons, down 0.6%; and autumn grain production totaled 528.43 million tons, up 1.4%. By crop type, wheat production reached 140.10 million tons, up 2.6%; corn production stood at 294.92 million tons, up 2.1%; rice production came in at 207.53 million tons, up 0.5%; and soybean production totaled 20.65 million tons, down 0.9%. For the year as a whole, the output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry meat reached 96.63 million tons, up 0.2% from the previous year. Specifically, pork production was 57.06 million tons, down 1.5%; beef production was 7.79 million tons, up 3.5%; mutton production was 5.18 million tons, down 2.5%; and poultry meat production was 26.60 million tons, up 3.8%. Milk production totaled 40.79 million tons, down 2.8%; and poultry egg production reached 35.88 million tons, up 0.7%. Throughout the year, the number of pigs marketed reached 702.56 million head, down 3.3%; at year-end, the live pig inventory stood at 427.43 million head, down 1.6%.

II. Industrial production showed relatively strong growth, with equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing experiencing faster expansion.

For the year as a whole, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide increased by 5.8% over the previous year. By major sector, the value-added of the mining industry rose by 3.1%, that of the manufacturing sector by 6.1%, and that of the electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply sector by 5.3%. The value-added of equipment manufacturing grew by 7.7%, while that of high-tech manufacturing rose by 8.9%, both outpacing the growth rate of industrial enterprises above designated size by 1.9 and 3.1 percentage points, respectively. By type of ownership, state-controlled enterprises saw their value-added rise by 4.2%; joint-stock enterprises grew by 6.1%; foreign-invested and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-invested enterprises grew by 4.0%; and private enterprises grew by 5.3%. By product, output of new-energy vehicles, integrated circuits, and industrial robots increased by 38.7%, 22.2%, and 14.2%, respectively. In the fourth quarter, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size rose by 5.7% year-on-year. In December, the value-added of such enterprises increased by 6.2% year-on-year and by 0.64% month-on-month. From January to November, the total profits of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide reached 6,667.5 billion yuan, down 4.7% year-on-year.

III. The service sector continues to grow, and modern service industries are developing well.

The value-added of the service sector grew by 5.0% year-on-year for the full year. Among these, the value-added of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services, transportation, warehousing and postal services, accommodation and catering, financial services, and wholesale and retail trade increased by 10.9%, 10.4%, 7.0%, 6.4%, 5.6%, and 5.5%, respectively. In the fourth quarter, the value-added of the service sector rose by 5.8% year-on-year. In December, the service sector production index increased by 6.5% year-on-year; among them, the production indices for leasing and business services, financial services, information transmission, software and information technology services, and transportation, warehousing and postal services rose by 9.5%, 9.3%, 8.8%, and 8.3%, respectively. From January to November, the operating revenue of service enterprises above a designated size increased by 8.2% year-on-year. Among these, the operating revenue of leasing and business services, information transmission, software and information technology services, and transportation, warehousing and postal services enterprises rose by 11.5%, 9.5%, and 8.3%, respectively.

IV. Market sales continue to grow, and online retail remains relatively active.

The total retail sales of consumer goods for the year reached 48,789.5 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year. By location of business entities, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas amounted to 42,116.6 billion yuan, up 3.4%; while retail sales in rural areas totaled 6,672.9 billion yuan, up 4.3%. By consumption type, retail sales of goods reached 43,217.7 billion yuan, up 3.2%; and catering revenue came in at 5,571.8 billion yuan, up 5.3%. Sales of basic living goods and certain upgraded goods performed particularly well. For enterprises above the designated size, retail sales of household appliances and audiovisual equipment, sports and entertainment goods, telecommunications equipment, and food, oil, and grain products rose by 12.3%, 11.1%, 9.9%, and 9.9%, respectively, for the year. Nationwide online retail sales totaled 15,522.5 billion yuan, up 7.2% over the previous year. Among these, online retail sales of physical goods reached 13,081.6 billion yuan, up 6.5%, accounting for 26.8% of total retail sales of consumer goods. In the fourth quarter, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 3.8% year-on-year. In December, total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 3.7% year-on-year and by 0.12% month-on-month. For the entire year, retail sales of services grew by 6.2% over the previous year.

V. The scale of fixed-asset investment has expanded, and investment in high-tech industries has grown relatively rapidly.

For the entire year, nationwide fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) totaled 51,437.4 billion yuan, an increase of 3.2% over the previous year. Excluding real estate development investment, nationwide fixed-asset investment grew by 7.2%. By sector, infrastructure investment rose by 4.4%, manufacturing investment increased by 9.2%, while real estate development investment declined by 10.6%. The nationwide sales area of newly built commercial residential properties reached 973.85 million square meters, down 12.9%; sales value of newly built commercial residential properties amounted to 9,675 billion yuan, a decrease of 17.1%. By industry, investment in the primary sector grew by 2.6%, investment in the secondary sector rose by 12.0%, and investment in the tertiary sector fell by 1.1%. Private investment declined by 0.1%; excluding real estate development investment, private investment grew by 6.0%. Investment in high-tech industries increased by 8.0%, with investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industries rising by 7.0% and 10.2%, respectively. Among high-tech manufacturing sectors, investment in the manufacture of aircraft, spacecraft, and equipment, as well as in computer and office equipment manufacturing, increased by 39.5% and 7.1%, respectively. In the high-tech service sector, investment in professional technical services and technology transfer services rose by 30.3% and 11.4%, respectively. In December, fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) rose by 0.33% month-on-month.

6. Imports and exports of goods grew relatively rapidly, and the trade structure continued to improve.

The total value of goods imports and exports for the year reached 43,846.8 billion yuan, an increase of 5.0% over the previous year. Among them, exports totaled 25,454.5 billion yuan, up 7.1%; and imports amounted to 18,392.3 billion yuan, up 2.3%. Trade with countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 6.4%, accounting for 50.3% of the total import and export volume. Exports of electromechanical products rose by 8.7%, making up 59.4% of total exports. In December, the total value of goods imports and exports reached 4,067 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.8%. Specifically, exports totaled 2,409.9 billion yuan, up 10.9%; and imports reached 1,657 billion yuan, up 1.3%.

7. Overall consumer prices remained stable, while the core CPI saw a slight increase.

The consumer price index (CPI) for residents rose by 0.2% over the entire year compared to the previous year. By category, food, tobacco, and alcohol prices fell by 0.1%, while clothing prices rose by 1.4%, housing prices rose by 0.1%, prices for daily-use goods and services rose by 0.5%, transportation and communication prices fell by 1.9%, education, culture, and entertainment prices rose by 1.5%, medical care prices rose by 1.3%, and prices for other goods and services rose by 3.8%. Among food, tobacco, and alcohol prices, fresh fruit prices fell by 3.5%, grain prices fell by 0.1%, fresh vegetable prices rose by 5.0%, and pork prices rose by 7.7%. Excluding food and energy prices, the core CPI rose by 0.5%. In December, the CPI for residents rose by 0.1% year-on-year but remained unchanged from the previous month. Throughout the year, both the producer price index (PPI) for industrial products and the purchase prices of raw materials and fuels fell by 2.2% compared to the previous year. In December, both the PPI for industrial products and the purchase prices of raw materials and fuels fell by 2.3% year-on-year and by 0.1% month-on-month.

8. The employment situation remains generally stable, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate has declined.

The average annual urban surveyed unemployment rate across the country was 5.1%, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous year. In December, the national urban surveyed unemployment rate stood at 5.1%. The surveyed unemployment rate among locally registered workers was 5.3%; among migrant workers with non-local household registration, it was 4.6%, of which the surveyed unemployment rate among migrant agricultural workers was 4.5%. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.0%. The average weekly working hours for employed persons in enterprises nationwide were 49.0 hours. Throughout the year, the total number of migrant workers reached 299.73 million, an increase of 2.2 million, or 0.7%, over the previous year. Among them, the number of locally registered migrant workers was 121.02 million, up 0.1%; and the number of migrant workers who left their hometowns for work was 178.71 million, up 1.2%.

9. Residents’ incomes continued to rise, with rural residents’ income growth outpacing that of urban residents.

For the entire year, the per capita disposable income of all residents nationwide was 41,314 yuan, representing a nominal increase of 5.3% over the previous year and an actual increase of 5.1% after adjusting for price factors. By place of residence, urban residents had a per capita disposable income of 54,188 yuan, up 4.6% in nominal terms from the previous year and up 4.4% in real terms after adjusting for price factors; rural residents had a per capita disposable income of 23,119 yuan, up 6.6% in nominal terms from the previous year and up 6.3% in real terms after adjusting for price factors. The median per capita disposable income of all residents nationwide was 34,707 yuan, up 5.1% in nominal terms from the previous year. By quintile of national resident income, the low-income group had a per capita disposable income of 9,542 yuan, the lower-middle-income group 21,608 yuan, the middle-income group 33,925 yuan, the upper-middle-income group 53,359 yuan, and the high-income group 98,809 yuan. For the entire year, the per capita consumption expenditure of all residents nationwide was 28,227 yuan, up 5.3% in nominal terms from the previous year and up 5.1% in real terms after adjusting for price factors. The share of per capita food, tobacco, and alcohol expenditure in total per capita consumption expenditure—known as the Engel coefficient—was 29.8%, unchanged from the previous year. Per capita expenditure on services among all residents nationwide rose by 7.4%, accounting for 46.1% of total per capita consumption expenditure, an increase of 0.9 percentage points over the previous year.

10. The total population has slightly decreased, while the urbanization rate continues to rise.

At the end of the year, the country’s total population—including residents from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, as well as active-duty military personnel, but excluding residents from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan and foreign nationals residing in these 31 regions—stood at 1,408.28 million, a decrease of 1.39 million compared to the end of the previous year. Throughout the year, the number of births was 9.54 million, with a birth rate of 6.77‰; the number of deaths was 10.93 million, resulting in a death rate of 7.76‰; and the natural population growth rate was -0.99‰. In terms of gender composition, the male population totaled 71.909 million, while the female population reached 68.919 million, giving a sex ratio of 104.34 (with females set at 100). Regarding age distribution, the population aged 16–59 stood at 85.798 million, accounting for 60.9% of the total population; the population aged 60 and above numbered 31.031 million, representing 22.0% of the total population, of which those aged 65 and above totaled 22.023 million, or 15.6% of the total population. In terms of urban-rural distribution, the urban resident population reached 94.350 million, an increase of 10.83 million over the end of the previous year; the rural resident population fell to 46.478 million, a decrease of 12.22 million. The proportion of the urban population in the national population (urbanization rate) was 67.00%, up 0.84 percentage points from the end of the previous year.

Overall, in 2024, China’s national economy has maintained a generally stable and steady pace of progress, with high-quality development being steadily advanced, and Chinese-style modernization taking new, solid steps forward. However, we must also recognize that the current changing external environment is bringing increasingly adverse impacts, domestic demand remains insufficient, some enterprises are facing difficulties in production and operation, and the economy continues to face numerous challenges and obstacles. In the next phase, we must remain guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as well as the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, and follow the arrangements made at the Central Economic Work Conference. We should uphold the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the establishment of a new development pattern, firmly promote high-quality development, further deepen reform and opening-up, adopt more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies, expand domestic demand, foster the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, stabilize expectations, boost vitality, and drive the economy toward sustained recovery and improvement.

Note

(1) The growth rates of GDP and its component categories are calculated at constant prices; the growth rates of value added by industrial enterprises above a designated size and their component categories are calculated at comparable prices—all representing real growth rates. With the exception of specially noted indicators, other indicators are calculated at current prices and represent nominal growth rates.

(2) The model was automatically adjusted according to the season to revise the growth rates on a quarter-on-quarter basis for GDP, value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size, fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households), and total retail sales of consumer goods over the past year. The revised results, along with the quarter-on-quarter GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the quarter-on-quarter data for other indicators in December 2024, are as follows:

The quarter-on-quarter GDP growth rates for each quarter of 2023 and 2024 were 1.7%, 1.2%, 1.5%, 0.9%, 1.5%, 0.9%, 1.3%, and 1.6%, respectively.

(3) The statistical scope for industrial enterprises above a designated size includes industrial enterprises with annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more.

Since the scope of industrial enterprises above a designated size changes annually, to ensure comparability between this year’s data and last year’s, the corresponding figures used for calculating year-on-year growth rates of indicators such as product output are made as consistent as possible with the current statistical coverage of enterprises. Consequently, there are differences in caliber compared to the data published last year. The main reasons are as follows: First, the scope of statistical units has changed. Each year, some enterprises meet the size criteria and are included in the survey scope, while others fall below the threshold and are removed from the survey. Additionally, newly established enterprises that begin production, bankrupt enterprises, and enterprises whose licenses have been revoked or suspended also affect the scope. Second, for certain enterprise groups (companies), there is a phenomenon of double-counting of product output across different regions. To address this issue, a special survey was conducted to eliminate duplicate counts of output across regions for these enterprise groups (companies).

(4) The service sector production index refers to the change in output of the service sector during the reporting period, adjusted for price factors, relative to the base period.

(5) The statistical scope of total retail sales of consumer goods includes legal entities, industrial activity units, and individual businesses engaged in retail sales of goods or providing catering services. Among these, enterprises above the prescribed threshold refer to wholesale enterprises (units and individual businesses) with annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more, retail enterprises (units and individual businesses) with annual main business revenue of 5 million yuan or more, and accommodation and catering enterprises (units and individual businesses) with annual main business revenue of 2 million yuan or more.

Since the scope of wholesale and retail enterprises, as well as accommodation and catering enterprises (units and individual businesses) above the prescribed threshold changes annually, in order to ensure comparability of this year’s data with last year’s, the corresponding period figures used to calculate the year-on-year growth rates of various indicators, such as retail sales of consumer goods by enterprises above the threshold, are consistent with the statistical coverage of enterprises (units and individual businesses) for the current period. Consequently, there are differences in caliber between this year’s data and the data published last year. The main reasons for these differences are that each year some enterprises (units and individual businesses) meet the threshold criteria and are included in the survey scope, while others fall below the threshold due to shrinking size and thus are excluded from the survey. Additionally, newly established enterprises, bankruptcies, and enterprises (units and individual businesses) whose licenses have been revoked or suspended also contribute to these changes in scope.

Online retail sales refer to the total retail sales of goods and services realized through public online trading platforms (including self-built websites and third-party platforms). Goods and services include both physical products and non-physical products (such as virtual goods and service-based products).

The total retail sales of consumer goods include online retail sales of physical goods but exclude online retail sales of non-physical goods.

(6) Retail sales of services refer to the total value of services provided directly by enterprises (industrial activity units and individual businesses) in the form of transactions to individuals and other entities for non-production and non-business purposes. This metric aims to reflect the value of consumer-oriented services sold by service providers in monetary terms, including retail sales of services in sectors such as transportation, accommodation, catering, education, healthcare, sports, and entertainment.

(7) The growth rate of fixed-asset investment is calculated using a comparable base.

(8) Import and export data are sourced from the General Administration of Customs.

(9) Employed persons refer to individuals aged 16 and above who are capable of working and engage in certain social labor activities in order to earn wages or business income.

(10) Migrant workers refer to laborers whose household registration remains in rural areas but who have come to urban centers to work and have been engaged in non-agricultural activities locally or elsewhere for six months or longer. Local migrant workers are those who work within the administrative boundaries of their hometown township. Out-of-town migrant workers are those who work outside the administrative boundaries of their hometown township.

(11) The median per capita disposable income of the national population refers to the per capita disposable income of the survey household located exactly in the middle when all surveyed households are arranged in ascending order according to their per capita disposable income levels.

The quintile classification of per capita disposable income for the national population refers to arranging all surveyed households in ascending order according to their per capita income levels and dividing them equally into five quintiles. The bottom 20% of households, based on income, constitute the low-income group; following this pattern, the subsequent groups are the lower-middle-income group, the middle-income group, the upper-middle-income group, and the high-income group.

(12) Due to rounding, there may be discrepancies between the total and the sum of individual items for some data.