In 2023, Shanghai was the city with the largest GDP in China, reaching a value added of approximately 4.7 trillion yuan. The four Chinese first-tier cites Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou had by far the strongest economic performance. Development of Chinese cities Rapid urbanization and economic growth have reshaped all Chinese cities since the economic opening up of China. While the first-tier cities have overall benefitted most from this development, the last two decades have seen many second-tier cities catching up. For many years already, growth rates in Qingdao, Hangzhou, Changsha, and Zhengzhou have been higher than in Shanghai or Beijing.This development was driven by lower costs in smaller cities, a specialization of their economies, and political measures to support inland cities and ease the pressure on the largest municipalities. Today, per capita GDP in cities such as Suzhou, Nanjing, and Shenzhen is already higher than in Beijing or Shanghai. Future perspectives Competition between cities will further change China’s urban landscape in the future. Medium-sized cities that can provide an attractive economic environment have the potential to grow their economy at a faster pace, attract immigration, and further increase their relative importance. Cities that are losing their competitive edge, however, like Shenyang, Dalian, and other cities in the northeastern rustbelt, are increasingly confronted by economic stagnation and demographic decline.

In 2021, the highest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of major cities in China had been reached in Beijing, amounting to about 183,980 yuan per person. Per capita GDP of cities may vary largely in China, from 20 to 30 thousand yuan in smaller and remote cities in the countryside to nearly 200,000 yuan in large cities.

According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2024, the city with the highest number of billionaires in 2024 was New York. In detail, 119 billionaires resided in the American city. Furthermore, 97 billionaires lived in London, while Mumbai had a billionaire population of 92 individuals. New York was the only city in the world with more than 100 billionaires that year. Mega-cities of the world A large number of the world’s billionaires are concentrated in a select number of the world’s mega-cities. This has as much to do with the location of their wealth, business interests, and further earning potential, as does the quality of life in those cities. A look at the most significant industries in the global billionaire production line helps to explain the prominence of the traditional capitals of global business including New York, London and Hong Kong. The place of many Chinese cities on the list can in part be explained by the strong performance of industrial conglomerates from the country in recent years. Economic growth in China While New York is the city with the highest number of billionaires, China now boasts the most billionaires of any country in the world. However, eight of the top ten wealthiest billionaires still came from the United States as of 2024.

Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of cities in China varies tremendously, mainly depending on the location of the city. Cities with the highest per capita GDP are mainly to be found in coastal provinces in East China and in South China, like Guangdong province. The poorest cities are located in the still less developed western parts of China, like Gansu province, or in the Chinese rust belt in Northeastern China, like Heilongjiang province.

In January 2024, approximately 296,500 hoseholds in Beijing owned assets worth ten million yuan ore more. Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were home to by far the highest number of millionaires in Greater China.

As of January 2024, Zhong Shanshan topped the list of the richest people in China with a net worth of 63 billion U.S. dollars. Huang Zheng, founder of Pinduoduo, and Ma Huateng, founder of the IT giant Tencent, came in second and third respectively, while Ma Yun, founder of the IT giant Alibaba, fell back to the tenth place.

Ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) in China

Net worth refers to the amount of value by which an individual’s assets exceed their liabilities. It is usually cited to demonstrate the economic position of a person. Following China’s extensive economic development over the past two decades, the number of wealthy people had been rapidly growing as well. According to Hurun Research Institute, Greater China was the region with the largest number of billionaires worldwide as of 2024, with a total number of 814 billionaires. As of January 2022, the number of millionaires had amounted to approximately 20,400 people in Beijing alone. Unsurprisingly, the majority of high-net worth individuals lives in one of the four first-tier cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

Chinese billionaire's sources of wealth

Chinese millionaires have accumulated their wealth primarily as private entrepreneurs. Most of the people listed among the 20 wealthiest Chinese in 2024 had owned their own companies. Zhong Shanshan, who topped the list of richest people in China in 2024, has made his fortune as founder of the beverage company Nongfu Spring.

This statistic shows the number of super rich households in Greater China as of January 2024, by city. In January 2024, approximately 19,000 households owning assets of 100 million Chinese yuan or more existed in Beijing.

This article compares the population agglomeration characteristics of the Xi’an metropolitan area in western China with those of metropolitan areas in other regions officially approved by the Chinese government. The kernel density estimation method and Markov chain model were used to conduct the study. The results revealed that from 2010 to 2020, the population agglomeration level of the Xi’an metropolitan area showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The absolute gap in the population agglomeration level between cities within the metropolitan area gradually narrowed, and the polarization phenomenon of population agglomeration was not obvious. Compared with metropolitan agglomerations such as Nanjing, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, Chongqing, and Chengdu, the Xi’an metropolitan agglomeration had a lower population agglomeration level, with a significant gap. Moreover, there was an obvious “club convergence” phenomenon in the population agglomeration levels of different urban agglomerations. The probability of the population agglomeration level remaining stable was at least 53.85%, indicating that there was a “Matthew effect” in which the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. Through the convergence models of α and β, the analysis suggested that there was no significant α convergence between the population agglomeration level of the Xi’an metropolitan agglomeration and that of other metropolitan agglomerations. Instead, there was a significant β divergence, indicating that the gap between the Xi’an metropolitan agglomeration’s population agglomeration level and that of other metropolitan agglomerations is gradually widening. An integrated theoretical framework of population agglomeration was constructed from three dimensions: producers, consumers, and social people. An empirical analysis was conducted on the causes of population agglomeration in the Xi’an metropolitan area and other metropolitan areas. The multiple regression results showed that the income level, public consumption expenditure level, education level, comfortable living environment, and educational level were important factors leading to differences in population agglomeration. The geographic detector results showed that factors in the consumer dimension were the main reasons for population agglomeration in metropolitan areas.

In 2023, the annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in different provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China varied from approximately 200,300 yuan in Beijing municipality to roughly 47,900 yuan in Gansu province. The average national per capita GDP crossed the threshold of 10,000 U.S. dollars in 2019 and reached around 89,400 yuan in 2023. Regional economic differences in China The level of economic development varies considerably in different parts of China. Four major geographic and economic regions can be discerned in the country: The economically advanced coastal regions in the east, less developed regions in Northeast and Central China, and the developing regions in the west. This division has deep historical roots reflecting the geography of each region and their political past and present. Furthermore, regional economic development closely correlates with regional urbanization rates, which closely resembles the borders of the four main economic regions. Private income in different parts of China Breaking the average income figures further down by province, municipality, or autonomous region reveals that the average disposable income in Shanghai or Beijing is on average more than three times higher than in Tibet or Gansu province. In rural areas, average disposable income is often only between one third and one half of that in urban areas of the same region. Accordingly, consumer expenditure per capita in urban areas reaches the highest levels in Shanghai, Beijing, and the coastal regions of China.

In 2024, the average annual per capita disposable income of rural households in China was approximately ****** yuan, roughly ** percent of the income of urban households. Although living standards in China’s rural areas have improved significantly over the past 20 years, the income gap between rural and urban households is still large. Income increase of China’s households From 2000 to 2020, disposable income per capita in China increased by around *** percent. The fast-growing economy has inevitably led to the rapid income increase. Furthermore, inflation has been maintained at a lower rate in recent years compared to other countries. While the number of millionaires in China has increased, many of its population are still living in humble conditions. Consequently, the significant wealth gap between China’s rich and poor has become a social problem across the country. However, in recent years rural areas have been catching up and disposable income has been growing faster than in the cities. This development is also reflected in the Gini coefficient for China, which has decreased since 2008. Urbanization in China The urban population in China surpassed its rural population for the first time in 2011. In fact, the share of the population residing in urban areas is continuing to increase. This is not surprising considering remote, rural areas are among the poorest areas in China. Currently, poverty alleviation has been prioritized by the Chinese government. The measures that the government has taken are related to relocation and job placement. With the transformation and expansion of cities to accommodate the influx of city dwellers, neighboring rural areas are required for the development of infrastructure. Accordingly, land acquisition by the government has resulted in monetary gain by some rural households.

A survey conducted among Chinese millionaires in early 2025 revealed that around ** percent of respondents chose Sanya as their preferred domestic travel destination. This destination was the most popular among the respondents in a similar survey a year earlier.

In 2023, by far the highest number of individuals with net assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars worldwide were residing in North America, reaching over ******* people. Asia recorded the second highest number of UHNWIs in the world with over ******* individuals.A small share owns vast sums of wealthThe vast majority of global wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people. Only *** percent of the global population owns assets worth more than *** million U.S. dollars. The richest people in the world are Elon Mask, Jeff Bezos, and Bernard Arnault. When it comes to women, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers led the ranking of the most affluent women worldwide. The wealth of over ** percent of UHNWIs was self-made. Where UHNWIs live and where they leave Unsurprisingly, as North America is the world region with the highest number of UHNWIs, the United States is the country with the highest UHNWI count. However, Hong Kong, special administrative (SAR) region in China, is the city with the highest number of UHNWIs. Nevertheless, China was the country that recorded the highest outflux of UHNWIs in 2022.