AI Infographic: China's economic and social development in 2025

The year 2025 marks the conclusion of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and represents a significant year in the process of Chinese modernization. Faced with profound and complex changes at home and abroad, China’s national economy pushed forward with innovation-led and high-quality development despite mounting economic pressure.

According to preliminary estimates, the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 was 140,187.9 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent over the previous year, contributing around 30% of global economic expansion. This further solidifies its role as a key contributor and stabilizer for the global economy.

The newly increased employed people in urban areas numbered 12.67 million in 2025, 0.11 million more than that of the previous year. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 2025 averaged 5.2 percent, indicating steady employment conditions nationwide.

New quality productive forces grew at a steady pace. The value added of high-tech manufacturing increased by 9.4 percent, accounting for 17.1 percent of that of all industrial enterprises above the designated size. The online retail sales reached 15,972.2 billion yuan, up by 8.6 percent over the previous year. The output of service robots reached 18.581 million, up by 16.1 percent over the previous year; that of mobile communication base station equipment reached 5.364 million radio frequency modules, up by 13.5 percent.

Solid progress was made in the integrated development of urban and rural areas and coordinated regional development. By the end of 2025, the urbanization rate of permanent residents reached 67.89 percent, 0.89 percentage points higher than that at the end of 2024.

Green and low-carbon transformation achieved remarkable results. According to preliminary estimates, the national carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan worth of GDP in 2025 dropped by 5.0 percent over that of the previous year. The electricity generated by clean energy such as hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and solar power was 4,248.1 billion kilowatts-hours, up by 14.4 percent over the previous year. The output of new energy vehicles reached 16.524 million, up by 25.1 percent over the previous year.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China