List of Chinese administrative divisions by GDP per capita

The article is about China's first-level administrative divisions by their gross domestic product per capita in main years. All figures are given in the national currency, renminbi (CNY), and in USD at nominal values, according to recent exchange rates as well as according to purchasing power parity (PPP). The average CNY exchange rate used here is from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, and CNY PPP exchange rates are estimated according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Since the implementation of reform and opening up in mainland China in 1978, its economy has developed rapidly. In 1995, the GDP per capita of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai reached more than 1,000 US dollars; by 2000, there were 10 provinces with GDP per capita exceeding 1,000 US dollars, of which Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai exceeded 2,000 US dollars. By 2020, the per capita GDP of mainland China exceeded US$10,000, of which Beijing and Shanghai exceeded US$22,000, Jiangsu was nearly US$18,000, Fujian exceeded US$15,000, Zhejiang and Tianjin exceeded US$14,000, Guangdong and Chongqing exceeded US$11,000, and Hubei, Inner Mongolia, and Shandong exceeded US$10,000. Except for Gansu, the remaining provinces all exceeded US$6,000.

Apart from the national capital of Beijing and the financial capital of Shanghai, coastal provinces lead the per capita GDP rankings within China, as these coastal provinces are most heavily exposed to export-oriented industrialization. The seaports present within the coastal provinces enable the provinces' greater exposure to international trade and allow both local and foreign companies, which are recipients of foreign direct investment into China, to export goods and reach global markets faster.^[1]

For comparison purposes, this article also displays the GDPs of the special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau, which maintain separate economic systems and currencies. These figures are shown in USD based on PPP, as estimated by the International Monetary Fund.^[1]