Economic complexity rankings in China
China: Economic complexity rankings was 18 in 2016. ▼ Falling
Latest (2016)
18
Change on year
down 5.3%
World rank
101st
of 121 countries
All-time high
48
in 1994
All-time low
18
in 2014
Years of data
53
1964–2016
Economic complexity rankings in China, 1964–2016
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for economic complexity rankings in China is 18, measured in 2016. That is the lowest value across all 53 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.3% on the previous year and down 48.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, economic complexity rankings in China peaked at 48 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 18, in 2014.
China ranks 101st of 121 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Economic complexity rankings in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 26 | — |
| 1965 | 26 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 28 | +7.7% |
| 1967 | 29 | +3.6% |
| 1968 | 29 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 31 | +6.9% |
| 1970 | 30 | -3.2% |
| 1971 | 31 | +3.3% |
| 1972 | 32 | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 29 | -9.4% |
| 1974 | 31 | +6.9% |
| 1975 | 32 | +3.2% |
| 1976 | 40 | +25.0% |
| 1977 | 40 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 36 | -10.0% |
| 1979 | 34 | -5.6% |
| 1980 | 33 | -2.9% |
| 1981 | 32 | -3.0% |
| 1982 | 36 | +12.5% |
| 1983 | 38 | +5.6% |
| 1984 | 38 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 37 | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 38 | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 40 | +5.3% |
| 1988 | 38 | -5.0% |
| 1989 | 35 | -7.9% |
| 1990 | 32 | -8.6% |
| 1991 | 31 | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 37 | +19.4% |
| 1993 | 41 | +10.8% |
| 1994 | 48 | +17.1% |
| 1995 | 42 | -12.5% |
| 1996 | 46 | +9.5% |
| 1997 | 41 | -10.9% |
| 1998 | 43 | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 45 | +4.7% |
| 2000 | 40 | -11.1% |
| 2001 | 38 | -5.0% |
| 2002 | 38 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 35 | -7.9% |
| 2004 | 35 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 35 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 35 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 34 | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 28 | -17.6% |
| 2009 | 26 | -7.1% |
| 2010 | 26 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 27 | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 22 | -18.5% |
| 2013 | 20 | -9.1% |
| 2014 | 18 | -10.0% |
| 2015 | 19 | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 18 | -5.3% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 18 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 59, 31% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
- China's 18 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 42, 43% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28.17 | 26 | 31 | 6 |
| 1970s | 33.5 | 29 | 40 | 10 |
| 1980s | 36.5 | 32 | 40 | 10 |
| 1990s | 40.6 | 31 | 48 | 10 |
| 2000s | 34.4 | 26 | 40 | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.43 | 18 | 27 | 7 |
Countries ranked near China
More economy & growth data for China
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate -0.8795 % change on previous year (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.46 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.31 Percent per annum (2029)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.95 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0029 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 39.69 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 0.8948 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0021 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 28.98 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 1.91 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is economic complexity rankings in China?
- Economic complexity rankings in China was 18 in 2016, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest economic complexity rankings recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 48 in 1994.
- What is the lowest economic complexity rankings recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 18 in 2014.
- How does China rank for economic complexity rankings?
- China ranks 101st out of 121 countries with data for 2016.
- Is economic complexity rankings rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 48.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Economic complexity rankings. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).