Qinghai: population, economy, incomes, living costs and government budget

Qinghai is a province of China, number 30 of 31 by population. At the end of 2024, Qinghai had a population of 5,930,000 people, the 2nd smallest of the 31 provincial-level divisions. This is the National Bureau of Statistics year-end population figure (Table 2-5 of the China Statistical Yearbook 2025).

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Qinghai: The gross regional product (GRP, the regional equivalent of GDP) of Qinghai was 395.1 billion yuan in 2024 (3,951 hundred million yuan at current prices), 2nd lowest of 31 provincial-level divisions.
• Health in Qinghai: Health care institutions in Qinghai admitted 1,306,000 inpatients in 2024, about 220 for every 1,000 residents (16th highest of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions; national figure 221 per 1,000).
• Education in Qinghai: Qinghai had 672 regular primary schools in 2024, out of 136,332 in mainland China.
• Poverty and living standards in Qinghai: Households in Qinghai spent 21,204 yuan per person on consumption in 2024, 25% below the national average (28,227 yuan) and 6th lowest of 31 provincial-level divisions.
• Government budget and revenue in Qinghai: The government of Qinghai collected 37.0 billion yuan in general public budget revenue in 2024 (370 hundred million yuan), 2nd lowest of 31 provincial-level divisions and 0.3% of the 11.93 trillion yuan collected by all regions together. This is local government revenue; it excludes central government revenue collected in the region.

How provinces are governed in China

Provincial level (22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 centrally administered municipalities, 2 special administrative regions: Hong Kong and Macao). Governor elected by the provincial people's congress (whose deputies are elected indirectly); Party secretary appointed through the Party system. Provincial administration, economy, budgets; the PRC also counts Taiwan as a province, a claim the authorities in Taipei reject.

Every tier of government in China

Other provinces of China

• Guangdong 127,800,000
• Shandong 100,800,000
• Henan 97,850,000
• Jiangsu 85,260,000
• Sichuan 83,640,000
• Hebei 73,780,000
• Zhejiang 66,700,000
• Hunan 65,390,000
• Anhui 61,230,000
• Hubei 58,340,000
• Guangxi 50,130,000
• Yunnan 46,550,000
• Jiangxi 45,020,000
• Fujian 41,930,000
• Liaoning 41,550,000
• Shaanxi 39,530,000
• Guizhou 38,600,000
• Shanxi 34,460,000
• Chongqing 31,900,000
• Heilongjiang 30,290,000
• Xinjiang 26,230,000
• Shanghai 24,800,000
• Gansu 24,580,000
• Inner Mongolia 23,880,000
• Jilin 23,170,000
• Beijing 21,830,000
• Tianjin 13,640,000
• Hainan 10,480,000
• Ningxia 7,290,000
• Xizang (Tibet) 3,700,000

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Sources

• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 6-21: Per Capita Consumption Expenditure of Households by Composition and Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 364b1913585f…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 7-6: General Public Expenditure by Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 216b15998be4…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 3-9: Gross Regional Product (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a9264dcab644…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 6-18: Per Capita Disposable Income of Households by Region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5ecda4c527e6…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 2-5: Population at Year-end by Region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f107c477adfb…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 7-5: General Public Budget Revenue by Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d07c3442c850…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 22-22 Statistics on Medical Aid by Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1c077cfceae2…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 22-10 Hospitalization Services in Health Care Institutions by Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e17ef012dd76…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 2-14 Illiterate Population Aged 15 and Over by Gender and Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 90b33b452d5a…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 22-17 Health Status of Maternity Female by Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 133bda3a33ae…)
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Statistical Yearbook 2025, Table 21-19 Statistics on Primary Schools by Region (2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fd3519674d5d…)

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