Just over one in three respondents in China said that advancing their career is one of the three most important aspects in their life, according to a Statista Consumer Insights survey conducted between July 2024 and June 2025. With 35 percent choosing the option, it had the same number of respondents as the answers of “an honest and respectable life” and “a happy relationship”. Only “safety and security” had a higher response rate (43 percent). Japan was at the other end of the spectrum, where just seven percent of respondents put advancing their career in the top three.
How Important Is Career Progression?
Career
Description
This chart shows the share of respondents who rank "advancing my career" among the top three aspects of life (in percent).
