The preliminary statistics of Ningbo’s economic performance in 2021 were released by the Ningbo Bureau of Statistics and the Ningbo Investigation Team of the National Bureau of Statistics. According to the data, Ningbo’s regional gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 1,459.49 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 8.2% based on comparable prices, and an average two-year growth of 5.7%.
Industrial production and sales were booming, and more emerging industries were promoted. Throughout the year, the industrial value added of Ningbo’s enterprises above designated size reached 486.50 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.9% and an average growth of 8.5% in the two years.
In the whole year, the output value of new industrial products manufactured by Ningbo’s enterprises above designated size soared by 26.3% year-on-year – 4.5 percentage points higher than the growth rate of industrial output value from enterprises above designated size; furthermore, this value accounted for 34.3% of the total output of the enterprises. Emerging industries grew rapidly in 2021, and the added value of artificial intelligence industries, core digital economy industries, new material industries, high-tech manufacturing, and equipment manufacturing increased by 21.3%, 17.5%, 16.6%, 16.1%, and 16.1%, respectively. What’s more, business efficiency improved steadily. Throughout the year, Ningbo’s industrial enterprises above designated size achieved a total profit of 172.41 billion yuan, a year-on-year ascent of 10.2%; a total profit and tax of 256.38 billion yuan, an increase of 9.4%, an average climb of 10.4% in the two years.
The service industry was running smoothly, with outstanding contributions from key industries in Ningbo. In 2021, the added value of the service industry totaled 724.16 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. Specifically, the added value of the wholesale and retail industry was 176.22 billion yuan, an increase of 11.3%; the added value of the profitable service industry was 149.12 billion yuan, a growth of 9.2%; the added value of the financial industry was 106.27 billion yuan, a rise of 7.3%; the transportation, warehousing and postal industries’ added value was 59.96 billion yuan, an increase of 10.4%.
Fixed asset investment increased fast in 2021, and the manufacturing industry investment was boosted. In the whole year, Ningbo’s fixed asset investment climbed by 11.0%. Manufacturing investment rose by 27.0%, real estate development investment increased by 14.1 %, and infrastructure investment declined by 9.9%. The average growth rates for the two years were 17.9%, 10.4% and -1.2%, respectively.
With a recovering consumer market and rapid growth in online retailing, in 2021, Ningbo’s total retail sales of consumer goods reached 464.91 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.7% and an average increase of 4.4% in the two years.
The total value of imports and outputs set a record high in 2021 as well as the value of foreign investment. In the whole year, Ningbo’s total foreign trade import and export values reached 1.19261 trillion yuan and surpassed the trillion-yuan mark for the first time, with a year-on-year increase of 21.6%. Exports were 762.43 billion yuan, an increase of 19.0%; imports were 430.18 billion yuan, an increase of 26.3%.
Ningbo’s fiscal revenue grew rapidly, providing a vital guarantee of livelihood expenditure. The total fiscal revenue for the year was 326.44 billion yuan, up 15.1% year on year and 8.3% on average over the previous two years.
The income of residents rose almost at the same rate as the economy, and the urban-rural income gap continued to diminish. Residents’ per capita disposable income in 2021 was 65,436 yuan, a nominal gain of 9.1% year on year and an actual increase of 6.9% after deducting price factors, keeping pace with economic growth. The ratio of per capita income of urban and rural residents was 1.72, down 0.02 from the previous year.
Reporter: Xie Bin
Correspondent: Lu Hailong
Translator: Mei Jie
Proofreaders: Puyang Rong, Huang Dawang, Jason Mowbray