Annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China 1990-2021

In 2021, the annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China amounted to approximately 47,412 yuan. Annual per capita income in Chinese urban areas saw a significant rise over the last decades and is still rising at a high pace. During the last nine years, per capita disposable income nearly doubled in China.

Income distribution in China

As an emerging economy, China faces a large number of development challenges, one of the most pressing issues being income inequality. The income gap between rural and urban areas has been stirring social unrest in China and poses a serious threat to the dogma of a “harmonious society” proclaimed by the communist party. In contrast to the disposable income of urban households, that of rural households only amounted to around 18,900 yuan in 2021. Coinciding with the urban-rural income gap, income disparities between coastal and western regions in China have become apparent. As of 2020, households in Shanghai and Beijing displayed the highest average annual income of nearly 74,000 yuan both, followed by Zhejiang province with 60,200 yuan. Heilongjiang, a province located in the Northeast of China, had the lowest average annual household income in China with merely 30,900 yuan.

Income inequality in China

The Gini coefficient is the most commonly used measure of income inequality. For China, the official Gini coefficient also indicates the astonishing inequality of income distribution in the country. Although the Gini coefficient has dropped from its high in 2008 at 49.1 points, it still ranged at a score of 46.5 points in 2019. The United Nations have set an index value of 40 as a warning level for serious inequality in a society.