According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, national gross domestic product per capita reached 85,698 yuan in 2022, or about US$12,741 based on the yuan's average exchange rate last year. That puts the country just slightly below the World Bank's high-income threshold of US$13,205, as of July 2022.
The United States is the richest country in the world with the highest GDP, as of 2021. China is the second richest country in the world with a $17.734 trillion GDP.
The country's nominal GDP of USD 18 trillion is roughly six times that of India. China has historically had a larger population. And in the previous decade, China's real GDP growth outpaced India's by over 1.5 percentage points annually. However, the tables are set to be at least partly turned in the coming years.
Private investment and exports are the main drivers of economic growth in China; but, in recent years, the Chinese government has been emphasising domestic consumption. 1,411,750,000 (31 December 2022 est.) $19.373 trillion (nominal; 2023 est.) $33.014 trillion (PPP; 2023 est.)
In this line, data acquired by Finbold indicates that as of April 12, China's national debt amounted to $14.34 trillion, ranking second globally. This value reflects a year-on-year (YoY) increase of $3.81 trillion, or 36.18%, compared to the $10.53 trillion recorded in 2022.
There is still much work to be done to propel China to the top of the world's economy, but it is certainly possible that the Chinese economy can surpass the power of the US by 2050. It may also be too early to make definitive projections of China's future.
Manufacturing, services and agriculture are the largest sectors of the Chinese economy – employing the majority of the population and making the largest contributions to GDP. Since 1949, the Chinese Government has been responsible for planning and managing the national economy.
According to Policy Brief No. 153 from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), entitled “India overtakes China as the world's most populous country”, between 2023 and 2050, the number of persons aged 65 or over is expected to nearly double in China and to increase by more than double in ...
Reforms such as liberalization of investment and trade, promoting the creation of private and rural enterprises, relaxed state control over some prices, industrial production, and increased education investments contributed to the growth of the country's economy (Hu and Khan, 1997) .
China has the second-largest airforce globally, whereas IAF ranks fourth globally. The PLAAF's massive fighter aircraft and modern air defence systems challenge IAF's fleet size. PLAAF has over 2,000 battle aircraft, more than two times the IAF's 900 combat aircraft.
On a mean wealth basis, Australia was the fourth-richest country in 2021 behind Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong. The average Australian adult was worth $US550,110 at the end of last year, after enjoying a $US66,350 annual increase in wealth.
Thus Song China was the richest country in the world by GDP per capita at the turn of the millennium, by the 14th century parts of Europe caught up with it and the significant gap between China and Europe appeared by the middle of the 18th century.
Some consensus has concluded that China has reached the qualifications of superpower status, citing China's growing political clout and leadership in the economic sectors has given the country renewed standings in the International Community.
India is expected to overtake Germany in terms of GDP in 2025 and Japan in 2027 to become the third largest economy after the U.S. and China.
While American leaders fret that China might eventually overtake the U.S. in developing artificial intelligence, Beijing is already way ahead of Washington in enacting rules for the new technology.
At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.
According to data published by London-based investment fintech Invezz, Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the US are the top five nations with the highest level of government debt.
The United States remains the most powerful country in the world, followed by China and Russia. However, the balance of power may shift in the coming years as countries like India and Brazil continue to grow economically and assert themselves on the global stage.
Europe: The Winner in GDP-Per-Capita Wealth
The continent is home to the majority of the richest countries in the world. Europe is rich, largely due to the European Union.
The country with the highest number of billionaires is, unsurprisingly, the US. The United States of America has 735 billionaires – same as last year, according to Forbes.