section_path: Income and wealth
section_name: Income and wealth
paragraph_text: Income and wealth
  
  China has the largest national proportion of the global middle class.: 204 As of 2020, China had 400 million middle-income citizens.: 159 It is projected to reach 1.2 billion by 2027, making up one fourth of the world total. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, there were 23 million Chinese individuals with a per capita daily income of $50 or more, 242 million with a daily income between $20–50 per day, 493 million between $10–20, 641 million $2–10 per day, and 4 million under $2 per day; all the figures are expressed in international dollars and 2011 purchasing power parity values. In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's average disposable income per capita was ¥36,883, of which ¥20,590 was from wages and salaries, ¥6,175 was net business income, ¥3,227 was net income from property, and ¥6,892 was net transfer income.
  
  As of April 2023, China was second in the world, after the US, in total number of billionaires and total number of millionaires, with 495 Chinese billionaires and 6.2 million millionaires in 2022. According to the Hurun Global Rich Report In 2020, China had the world's highest number of billionaires, which is more than the US and India combined, and as of March 2021, the number of billionaires in China reach 1,058 with the combined wealth of US$4.5 trillion. According to the 2019 Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse Group, China surpassed the US in the wealth of the top ten percent of the world's population. In other words, as of 2019, a hundred million Chinese are in the top ten percent of the wealthiest individuals in the world – those who have a net personal wealth of at least $110,000. According to the list in 2021, China is home to six of the world's top ten cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Guangzhou in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th spots, respectively) by the highest number of billionaires, which is more than any other country. As of January 2021, China had 85 female billionaires, two-thirds of the global total.
  
  The average income of a rural resident in China is 30% of the average income for an urban resident.: 191 The rural population is relatively older as the rural youth migrate to cities for higher earning jobs while the aged stay behind. Much of this rural population works small plots of land in order to survive and have little earning power. Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated, in 2020, that 600 million Chinese live on or under 1,000 yuan per month. At a conversion rate of 7 yuan to the dollar, this translates to $143 per month. A family of 3 at this income level would have a yearly income of $5,150. The difference in income is also a reflection of the difference in retirement payments to urban retirees versus rural retirees. Urban workers receive much more a month in retirement benefits on average compared to rural/farm workers who receive a pittance. Despite income inequality in China, the absolute income of nearly all income groups has risen quickly.: 204 From 1988 to 2018, China's rural and urban populations had per capita increases in real income (i.e., accounting for inflation) of 8–10 times.: 204
  
  China's economic growth led to a major decrease in world inequality.: 202 Since China's Reform and Opening Up, more than 1 billion Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty.: 202 The majority of global poverty reduction between 1981 and 2008 occurred in China.: 202 As academic Lan Xiaohuan writes, during that period, "the number of poor people in the world outside China remained more or less unchanged. It can therefore be concluded that achievements in global poverty reduction come mainly from China.": 202–203
  
  In terms of domestic saving, defined as combined saving of households, businesses, and governments, China is the world's largest saving country as of 2022.: 27
  
  China has the largest national proportion of the global middle class.: 204 As of 2020, China had 400 million middle-income citizens.: 159 It is projected to reach 1.2 billion by 2027, making up one fourth of the world total. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, there were 23 million Chinese individuals with a per capita daily income of $50 or more, 242 million with a daily income between $20–50 per day, 493 million between $10–20, 641 million $2–10 per day, and 4 million under $2 per day; all the figures are expressed in international dollars and 2011 purchasing power parity values. In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's average disposable income per capita was ¥36,883, of which ¥20,590 was from wages and salaries, ¥6,175 was net business income, ¥3,227 was net income from property, and ¥6,892 was net transfer income.
  
  As of April 2023, China was second in the world, after the US, in total number of billionaires and total number of millionaires, with 495 Chinese billionaires and 6.2 million millionaires in 2022. According to the Hurun Global Rich Report In 2020, China had the world's highest number of billionaires, which is more than the US and India combined, and as of March 2021, the number of billionaires in China reach 1,058 with the combined wealth of US$4.5 trillion. According to the 2019 Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse Group, China surpassed the US in the wealth of the top ten percent of the world's population. In other words, as of 2019, a hundred million Chinese are in the top ten percent of the wealthiest individuals in the world – those who have a net personal wealth of at least $110,000. According to the list in 2021, China is home to six of the world's top ten cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Guangzhou in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th spots, respectively) by the highest number of billionaires, which is more than any other country. As of January 2021, China had 85 female billionaires, two-thirds of the global total.
  
  The average income of a rural resident in China is 30% of the average income for an urban resident.: 191 The rural population is relatively older as the rural youth migrate to cities for higher earning jobs while the aged stay behind. Much of this rural population works small plots of land in order to survive and have little earning power. Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated, in 2020, that 600 million Chinese live on or under 1,000 yuan per month. At a conversion rate of 7 yuan to the dollar, this translates to $143 per month. A family of 3 at this income level would have a yearly income of $5,150. The difference in income is also a reflection of the difference in retirement payments to urban retirees versus rural retirees. Urban workers receive much more a month in retirement benefits on average compared to rural/farm workers who receive a pittance. Despite income inequality in China, the absolute income of nearly all income groups has risen quickly.: 204 From 1988 to 2018, China's rural and urban populations had per capita increases in real income (i.e., accounting for inflation) of 8–10 times.: 204
  
  China's economic growth led to a major decrease in world inequality.: 202 Since China's Reform and Opening Up, more than 1 billion Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty.: 202 The majority of global poverty reduction between 1981 and 2008 occurred in China.: 202 As academic Lan Xiaohuan writes, during that period, "the number of poor people in the world outside China remained more or less unchanged. It can therefore be concluded that achievements in global poverty reduction come mainly from China.": 202–203
  
  In terms of domestic saving, defined as combined saving of households, businesses, and governments, China is the world's largest saving country as of 2022.: 27
  
  China has the largest national proportion of the global middle class.: 204 As of 2020, China had 400 million middle-income citizens.: 159 It is projected to reach 1.2 billion by 2027, making up one fourth of the world total. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, there were 23 million Chinese individuals with a per capita daily income of $50 or more, 242 million with a daily income between $20–50 per day, 493 million between $10–20, 641 million $2–10 per day, and 4 million under $2 per day; all the figures are expressed in international dollars and 2011 purchasing power parity values. In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's average disposable income per capita was ¥36,883, of which ¥20,590 was from wages and salaries, ¥6,175 was net business income, ¥3,227 was net income from property, and ¥6,892 was net transfer income.
  
  As of April 2023, China was second in the world, after the US, in total number of billionaires and total number of millionaires, with 495 Chinese billionaires and 6.2 million millionaires in 2022. According to the Hurun Global Rich Report In 2020, China had the world's highest number of billionaires, which is more than the US and India combined, and as of March 2021, the number of billionaires in China reach 1,058 with the combined wealth of US$4.5 trillion. According to the 2019 Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse Group, China surpassed the US in the wealth of the top ten percent of the world's population. In other words, as of 2019, a hundred million Chinese are in the top ten percent of the wealthiest individuals in the world – those who have a net personal wealth of at least $110,000. According to the list in 2021, China is home to six of the world's top ten cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Guangzhou in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th spots, respectively) by the highest number of billionaires, which is more than any other country. As of January 2021, China had 85 female billionaires, two-thirds of the global total.
  
  The average income of a rural resident in China is 30% of the average income for an urban resident.: 191 The rural population is relatively older as the rural youth migrate to cities for higher earning jobs while the aged stay behind. Much of this rural population works small plots of land in order to survive and have little earning power. Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated, in 2020, that 600 million Chinese live on or under 1,000 yuan per month. At a conversion rate of 7 yuan to the dollar, this translates to $143 per month. A family of 3 at this income level would have a yearly income of $5,150. The difference in income is also a reflection of the difference in retirement payments to urban retirees versus rural retirees. Urban workers receive much more a month in retirement benefits on average compared to rural/farm workers who receive a pittance. Despite income inequality in China, the absolute income of nearly all income groups has risen quickly.: 204 From 1988 to 2018, China's rural and urban populations had per capita increases in real income (i.e., accounting for inflation) of 8–10 times.: 204
  
  China's economic growth led to a major decrease in world inequality.: 202 Since China's Reform and Opening Up, more than 1 billion Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty.: 202 The majority of global poverty reduction between 1981 and 2008 occurred in China.: 202 As academic Lan Xiaohuan writes, during that period, "the number of poor people in the world outside China remained more or less unchanged. It can therefore be concluded that achievements in global poverty reduction come mainly from China.": 202–203
  
  In terms of domestic saving, defined as combined saving of households, businesses, and governments, China is the world's largest saving country as of 2022.: 27