Data released by the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics on January 30 reveals that the province's economy in 2025 demonstrated steady progress, quality improvement, and new advancements in high-quality development. According to the unified accounting results for regional gross domestic product, Guangdong's GDP reached 14,584.676 billion yuan in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.9% calculated at constant prices. Specifically, the value added of the primary industry was 589.180 billion yuan, up 4.5%; the secondary industry reached 5,499.350 billion yuan, growing 2.4%; and the tertiary industry achieved 8,496.146 billion yuan, increasing by 4.7%.
Agricultural production maintained a favorable situation with another bumper grain harvest. In 2025, the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery in Guangdong increased by 4.9% year-on-year, accelerating by 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. Both grain yield per unit area and total output achieved "double growth." The province's total grain output reached 13.188 million tons, up 0.4%, securing a good harvest on top of the previous year's increase. The grain yield per unit area was 393.3 kilograms per mu, rising by 0.5%. Agricultural product supply remained ample, with vegetable and edible fungus output growing 3.1%, garden fruit output up 6.1%, and tea output increasing 6.2%. Livestock and poultry production accelerated, as the number of slaughtered hogs and pork output rose by 5.4% and 5.7% respectively, while the number of slaughtered poultry and poultry meat output increased by 0.5% and 0.8% respectively.
Industrial production grew steadily as new quality productive forces continued to develop and expand. The value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size in Guangdong increased by 3.0% year-on-year in 2025. By sector, mining grew 3.0%, manufacturing increased 3.2%, and the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water rose 0.3%. Key industries provided stable support: the value added for the manufacture of computers, communication equipment, and other electronic devices grew 7.1%; electrical machinery and apparatus manufacturing increased 4.0%; general equipment manufacturing rose 5.3%; automobile manufacturing surged 10.1%, accelerating by 1.9 percentage points from the first three quarters; and specialized equipment manufacturing grew 7.6%, up 2.3 percentage points from the first three quarters. New growth drivers showed strong momentum: the value added of advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing increased by 5.1% and 6.2% respectively, outpacing the overall industrial growth by 2.1 and 3.2 percentage points, and accounting for 56.2% and 34.7% of the total industrial output above the designated size, up 0.7 and 0.9 percentage points from the first three quarters. Output of high-tech products grew robustly: production of industrial robots, civil drones, servers, and 3D printing equipment increased by 31.2%, 39.0%, 28.2%, and 49.6% respectively. Green and low-carbon products expanded rapidly: output of wind turbine generators, lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, and solar cells (photovoltaic cells) grew by 55.0%, 31.3%, and 51.0% respectively.
The service sector experienced relatively rapid growth, with modern services showing better performance. The value added of Guangdong's service sector increased by 4.7% year-on-year in 2025, accelerating by 1.9 percentage points from the full previous year. Within this, the financial intermediation sector and other services grew by 7.7% and 6.2% respectively. From January to November, the operating revenue of service enterprises above the designated size increased by 6.7%. Three major sectors—information transmission, software and IT services; leasing and business services; and transport, storage, and postal services—saw their operating revenue grow by 9.0%, 8.0%, and 5.9% respectively. Specifically, internet and related services grew 12.2%, while software and IT services increased 9.5%. Passenger and freight transport markets remained active. The province's total freight volume reached 3.855 billion tons, up 0.2%, with freight turnover growing 8.0%. Railway freight volume and turnover increased by 4.2% and 6.1% respectively, while civil aviation freight volume and turnover rose 9.9% and 9.4% respectively. Port cargo throughput was 2.325 billion tons, increasing 1.9%. Passenger volume reached 946 million people, up 3.5%, with passenger turnover growing 6.2%. Civil aviation passenger volume and turnover increased by 4.7% and 7.6% respectively.
Market sales continued to expand, with accelerated demand for some upgraded goods. The total retail sales of consumer goods in Guangdong increased by 2.8% year-on-year in 2025, accelerating by 2.0 percentage points from the previous year. By location, retail sales in urban markets grew 3.1%, while rural markets increased 0.7%. By consumption type, retail sales of goods rose 2.8%, and catering revenue grew 2.7%. Sales of essential goods maintained steady growth. Retail sales of grain, oil, and food products, as well as daily necessities, by units above the designated size increased by 9.4% and 5.6% respectively. Building on the policy of replacing old consumer goods, the "Purchase of Quality Guangdong Products" campaign significantly boosted consumption, driving rapid sales growth for some upgraded goods. Retail sales of sports and entertainment goods, cultural and office supplies, and communication equipment by units above the designated size grew by 28.6%, 15.9%, and 25.6% respectively. Retail sales of new energy vehicles by these units increased by 11.7%, accelerating by 8.3 percentage points from the first three quarters. Online consumption potential continued to be unleashed. Online retail sales of goods via public networks by units above the designated size grew 15.2%, 12.3 percentage points faster than the overall retail sales growth for such units.
Fixed-asset investment declined year-on-year, while investment in equipment and tools accelerated. Guangdong's fixed-asset investment decreased by 17.3% year-on-year in 2025. The effects of the large-scale equipment renewal policy continued to show, with investment in equipment and tools growing 3.7%, accelerating by 2.0 percentage points from the first three quarters. Within infrastructure investment, water transport and air transport investments grew by 5.2% and 12.7% respectively. Industrial investment accounted for 38.4% of the total, with oil and natural gas extraction, and production and supply of electricity and heat growing by 7.2% and 5.0% respectively. Support for developing new quality productive forces intensified, with investments in internet and related services, software and IT services, and research and experimental development surging by 115.6%, 13.1%, and 24.3% respectively. Real estate development investment fell 23.6%, while the floor space of newly built commercial housing sold decreased by 17.1%, narrowing by 4.7 percentage points from the full previous year.
Resident consumer prices remained generally stable, with core CPI registering a slight increase. Guangdong's Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased by 0.2% year-on-year in 2025. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased by 0.4% year-on-year, with the growth rate expanding by 0.3 percentage points from the previous year. In December, CPI rose 0.4% year-on-year, with the growth rate flat compared to November. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial producers decreased by 1.5% year-on-year in 2025. In December, it fell 1.5% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points from November. The Purchasing Price Index (IPI) for industrial producers decreased by 2.8% year-on-year for the full year. In December, it declined 1.6% year-on-year, with the drop narrowing by 0.9 percentage points from November.
Resident incomes continued to increase, with rural residents' income growth outpacing that of urban residents. The per capita disposable income of Guangdong residents reached 53,669 yuan in 2025, a nominal increase of 4.3% year-on-year. After adjusting for price factors, the real growth was 4.5%. By place of residence, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 63,974 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.8% year-on-year, with real growth of 3.9% after price adjustment. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 28,170 yuan, a nominal increase of 5.4% year-on-year, with real growth of 6.0% after price adjustment.
The resident population continued to grow, and the urbanization rate kept rising. At the end of 2025, Guangdong's resident population was 128.59 million, an increase of 790,000 from the end of the previous year. The annual number of births was 1.003 million, resulting in a birth rate of 7.82 per thousand. The number of deaths was 713,000, with a death rate of 5.56 per thousand. Natural population growth was 290,000, with a natural growth rate of 2.26 per thousand. The urban population accounted for 76.58% of the resident population (urbanization rate) in 2025, up 0.67 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
Overall, Guangdong achieved positive results in its economic and social development in 2025, with solid progress in high-quality development, marking new and firm steps in the Guangdong practice of Chinese modernization. However, it is also recognized that the current economic operation still faces numerous risks and challenges, with many external uncertainties and instabilities, necessitating continued efforts to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery and improvement.
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