Economy - Structure & Trends

Per Capita GDP, 2003 - Including Regional Per Capita GDP of 31 Chinese Provinces

Note: For this figure the World Bank Per Capita GDP estimate for China (PPP at 2000 international $) of 4,726 international $ was split up proportionally to the 31 mainland provinces of China, according to the 2003 Regional per Capita GDP published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
Unit: International $ per person per year based on 2000 PPP.

Source: This figure is based on data from the World Bank's World Development Indicators, 2005 and the China Statistical Yearbook, 2004, Table 3-11 (Gross Domestic Product by Region, 2003)

The figure above shows the per Capita GDP (based on PPP at 2000 constant international dollars) of all 158 countries for which the World Bank has calculated estimates. In addition the author has calculated per Capita GDP estimates for the 31 mainland provinces of China. 

We found China's highest per Capita GDP in Shanghai (with about 24,260 $PPP in 2003), which is comparable to the level of Sweden (with 25,271 $PPP) and Singapore (23,127 $PPP).
China's lowest per Capita GDP was calculated for the province of Guizhou with only 1,871 $PPP per person per year in 2003. This is about the same level as in Cambodia (1,963 $PPP) or Sudan (1,805 $PPP).

These data clearly illustrate the enormous range of economic development in China. While the most advanced provinces and urban areas are "playing in the same league" as some of the most advanced western countries, backward provinces are still at the economic level of poor African and Asian nations.