National Bureau of Statistics Releases 2019 Economic Performance Report: Annual Births at 14.65 Million

On January 17, the National Bureau of Statistics held a press conference to release data on China’s national economic performance in 2019, including figures on gross domestic product (GDP), total population, household income, and consumer price index. For the full year of 2019, China’s GDP reached RMB 99.0865 trillion, firmly maintaining its position as the world’s second-largest economy, while per capita GDP surpassed USD 10,000.

The development of the healthcare industry is inseparable from the sound operation of the national economy as a whole; therefore, we have selected data closely related to healthcare. The main components include:

1. The number of births nationwide totaled 14.65 million for the year, with a birth rate of 10.48 per thousand; the number of births decreased by 3.8% year-on-year, which may impact the maternal and infant industry;

2. The population aged 65 and above reached 176.03 million, accounting for 12.6% of the total population, with a year-on-year increase of 5.7% among those over 65; the elderly care industry may be affected;

3. The nationwide per capita disposable income of residents reached 30,733 yuan, representing a real growth of 5.8% after adjusting for price factors, indicating an improvement in residents’ income levels;

4. In 2023, the per capita consumption expenditure of residents nationwide was 21,559 yuan, representing a real increase of 5.5% after adjusting for price factors, indicating strengthened consumer willingness;

5. The consumer price index for residents increased by 2.9% year-on-year, with medical care prices rising by 2.4%.

The following is an excerpt from the original text:

At the end of the year, the total population of mainland China (including 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as active-duty personnel of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, but excluding the populations of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, Taiwan Province, and overseas Chinese) stood at 1.40005 billion, an increase of 4.67 million from the end of the previous year.The number of live births throughout the year was 14.65 million, with a birth rate of 10.48‰;The number of deaths was 9.98 million, with a crude death rate of 7.14‰; the natural population growth rate was 3.34‰. In terms of gender structure, the male population was 715.27 million, and the female population was 684.78 million, resulting in an overall sex ratio of 104.45 (females = 100). By age composition, the working-age population aged 16 to 59 years amounted to 896.40 million, accounting for 64.0% of the total population;The population aged 60 and above reached 253.88 million, accounting for 18.1% of the total population, among which the population aged 65 and above was 176.03 million, representing 12.6% of the total population.In terms of urban-rural structure, the permanent urban population stood at 848.43 million, an increase of 17.06 million from the end of the previous year; the permanent rural population was 551.62 million, a decrease of 12.39 million. The proportion of the urban population to the total population (urbanization rate) was 60.60%, representing an increase of 1.02 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The nationwide population with separated household registration and residence (i.e., those whose place of residence and household registration location are not in the same township or subdistrict, and who have been away from their household registration location for more than six months) totaled 280 million, a decrease of 6.13 million from the end of the previous year; among them, the floating population amounted to 236 million, a decrease of 5.15 million from the end of the previous year.

In 2026, the national per capita disposable income of residents in China reached 30,733 yuan, representing a nominal year-on-year increase of 8.9%, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year. After adjusting for price factors, the real growth was 5.8%, basically in sync with economic growth and roughly on par with the growth in per capita GDP.By place of residence, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 42,359 yuan, a nominal year-on-year increase of 7.9% and a real increase of 5.0% after adjusting for price factors; the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 16,021 yuan, a nominal year-on-year increase of 9.6% and a real increase of 6.2% after adjusting for price factors. The ratio of per capita income between urban and rural residents was 2.64, a decrease of 0.05 from the previous year. The median per capita disposable income of residents nationwide was 26,523 yuan, a nominal year-on-year increase of 9.0%. Grouped by national quintiles of resident income, the per capita disposable income was 7,380 yuan for the low-income group, 15,777 yuan for the lower-middle-income group, 25,035 yuan for the middle-income group, 39,230 yuan for the upper-middle-income group, and 76,401 yuan for the high-income group.

In 2026, the per capita consumption expenditure of residents in China was 21,559 yuan, representing a nominal year-on-year increase of 8.6%, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year; after adjusting for price factors, the real growth was 5.5%.By place of residence, per capita consumption expenditure for urban residents was 28,063 yuan, a nominal increase of 7.5%; for rural residents, it was 13,328 yuan, a nominal increase of 9.9%.

Consumer prices rose by 2.9% year-on-year, in line with the target of around 3%.Among them, urban prices rose by 2.8%, while rural prices increased by 3.2%. By category, prices for food, tobacco, and alcohol rose by 7.0%; clothing prices increased by 1.6%; housing costs went up by 1.4%; prices for household goods and services rose by 0.9%; transportation and communication costs decreased by 1.7%; and education, culture, and entertainment expenses increased by 2.2%.Healthcare rose by 2.4%,Prices of other goods and services rose by 3.4%. Within the food, tobacco, and alcohol category, grain prices increased by 0.5%, fresh vegetable prices rose by 4.1%, and pork prices surged by 42.5%. The core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, increased by 1.6%, with the growth rate falling by 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year. In December, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 4.5% year-on-year, while remaining flat month-on-month. For the full year, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial products decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous year; in December, it fell by 0.5% year-on-year, while remaining flat month-on-month. For the full year, the purchase price index for industrial producers decreased by 0.7% compared to the previous year; in December, it declined by 1.3% year-on-year, while remaining flat month-on-month.

Source: Official Website of the National Bureau of Statistics