Recently, the China Construction Industry Association released the "Statistical Analysis of Construction Industry Development in the First Half of 2023," with details as follows:

I. Basic Conditions of the National Construction Industry in the First Half of 2023

(1) Value Added of the Construction Industry

According to preliminary accounting, China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first half of 2023 was 59,303.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%. In the first half of the year, the construction industry achieved a value added of 3,700.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%, 2.2 percentage points higher than the GDP growth rate. The value added of the construction industry accounted for 6.24% of GDP.

(2) Investment in Construction and Installation Engineering and Total Output Value of the Construction Industry

In the first half of 2023, national fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) was 24,311.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.8% on a comparable basis, of which investment in construction and installation engineering increased by 3.2% year on year, 0.6 percentage points lower than the growth of national fixed asset investment (excluding rural households).

In the first half of 2023, construction enterprises nationwide (referring to general contracting and specialized contracting construction enterprises with qualification grades, excluding labor subcontracting construction enterprises, the same below) completed a total output value of 13,226.074 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.54%, 1.26 percentage points lower than the growth of national fixed asset investment (excluding rural households); construction enterprises completed a completed output value of 4,752.797 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.13%; output value completed in other provinces was 4,570.935 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.64%, accounting for 34.56% of the total output value of the construction industry.

(3) Number of Construction Enterprises, Number of Employees, and Labor Productivity

As of the end of June 2023, there were 139,740 construction enterprises with construction activities nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 7.91%; the number of employees was 40.1641 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.79%. Among them, there were 8,712 state-owned and state-holding construction enterprises, an increase of 926 over the same period of the previous year, accounting for 6.23% of the total number of construction enterprises.

In the first half of 2023, labor productivity calculated on the basis of total output value of the construction industry was 282,986 yuan/person, a year-on-year increase of 1.50%.

(4) Total Contract Value and Newly Signed Contract Value of Construction Enterprises

In the first half of 2023, the total contract value signed by construction enterprises nationwide was 51,495.92 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.03%, of which the newly signed contract value was 15,439.37 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.11%.

(5) Floor Space under Construction and Completed Floor Space of Buildings

In the first half of 2023, the floor space under construction was 11.776 billion square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 2.46%. Among them, the newly started floor space was 1.769 billion square meters, a decrease of 10.28% over the same period of the previous year. The completed floor space was 1.426 billion square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 3.08%.

Judging from the composition of completed floor space of buildings by construction enterprises nationwide, residential buildings accounted for the largest proportion at 61.52%; factories and buildings accounted for 17.63%; commercial and service buildings accounted for 6.62%; and the proportions of other types of completed floor space were all below 5%.

(6) Foreign Contracted Projects

From January to June 2023, the turnover of China's foreign contracted projects was 490.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7% (equivalent to US$70.73 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.1%), and the newly signed contract value was 655.98 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3% (equivalent to US$94.67 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.6%). The newly signed contract value of contracted projects by Chinese enterprises in countries along the "Belt and Road" was 330.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.5% (equivalent to US$47.64 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.8%), accounting for 50.3% of China's newly signed contract value of foreign contracted projects during the same period; the turnover was 277.72 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.5% (equivalent to US$40.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%), accounting for 56.7% of the total during the same period.

From January to June 2023, Chinese enterprises dispatched a total of 167,000 workers of various types abroad, an increase of 46,000 over the same period of the previous year; of these, 52,000 were dispatched under contracted projects and 115,000 under labor cooperation. At the end of June, there were 560,000 workers of various types abroad.

II. Basic Conditions of the Construction Industry in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

(1) Completion of Total Output Value of the Construction Industry

In the first half of 2023, the total output value of the construction industry in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong all exceeded 1 trillion yuan, reaching 1,591.678 billion yuan, 1,137.578 billion yuan, and 1,058.619 billion yuan respectively, accounting for 12.03%, 8.61%, and 8.00% of the national total output value of the construction industry respectively. In addition to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, eight other regions—Hubei, Shandong, Sichuan, Fujian, Beijing, Hunan, Anhui, and Henan—also had total output values exceeding 500 billion yuan. The total output value of the construction industry completed by the above 11 provinces and municipalities accounted for 70.14% of the national total output value of the construction industry. Judging from the growth of total output value of the construction industry in various regions, the total output value of the construction industry in 24 regions increased by varying degrees over the same period of the previous year. Among them, Shanghai had the largest increase, reaching 18.44%. The increases in Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu were all above 10%. The total output value of the construction industry in 7 regions decreased over the same period of the previous year, among which the decreases in Guizhou and Henan both exceeded 20% (Figure 1). 

Figure 1 / Total Output Value of the Construction Industry and Its Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

(2) Total Output Value of the Construction Industry Completed in Other Provinces by Region

In the first half of 2023, the total output value of the construction industry completed in other provinces by Jiangsu, Beijing, and Hubei all exceeded 400 billion yuan, reaching 667.007 billion yuan, 496.270 billion yuan, and 404.651 billion yuan respectively. The sum of the output value completed in other provinces by these 3 regions accounted for 34.30% of the total output value completed in other provinces. In 10 regions—Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hunan, Shandong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin, and Henan—the total output value of the construction industry completed in other provinces all exceeded 150 billion yuan. In the first half of 2023, the total output value of the construction industry completed in other provinces by 17 regions increased year on year, with Ningxia growing the fastest at 29.81%. The increases in Hainan and Shandong also exceeded 15%. Judging from the outward orientation (i.e., the proportion of output value completed in other provinces by the region to the total output value of the construction industry of the region), the top three regions were still Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, at 73.32%, 69.42%, and 55.80% respectively. Another 11 regions—Qinghai, Fujian, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hunan, Guizhou, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Hebei—also had an outward orientation exceeding 30% (Figure 2).

Figure 2 / Total Output Value of the Construction Industry Completed in Other Provinces and Outward Orientation by Region in the First Half of 2023

(3) Number of Construction Enterprises, Number of Employees, and Labor Productivity

In the first half of 2023, there were 11 regions with more than 5,000 construction enterprises nationwide. Among them, Jiangsu had the largest number of enterprises, reaching 13,104. The number of enterprises in Shandong, Zhejiang, and Guangdong all exceeded 10,000. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the number of enterprises increased in 29 regions, among which Qinghai grew by more than 50%, and Tianjin and Hainan both grew by more than 25%; the number of enterprises in Jilin and Heilongjiang decreased by more than 10% (Figure 3).

Figure 3 / Number of Construction Enterprises and Their Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

In the first half of 2023, there were still 13 regions with more than one million employees in the national construction industry. Jiangsu and Zhejiang remained major provinces in terms of the number of employees, reaching 6.8497 million and 4.1660 million respectively. The number of employees in Fujian, Guangdong, Shandong, and Sichuan all exceeded 2 million. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the number of employees increased in 10 regions, among which Jiangsu had the largest increase of 378,700; the number of employees decreased in 18 regions, among which Sichuan had the largest decrease of 550,000. The largest increase in the number of employees was in Tibet, at 22.71%; the largest decrease was in Jilin, down 21.05% (Figure 4).

 Figure 4 / Number of Employees in the Construction Industry and Their Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

In the first half of 2023, the top three regions in terms of labor productivity calculated on the basis of total output value of the construction industry were Hubei, Liaoning, and Shanghai, at 413,177 yuan/person, 382,102 yuan/person, and 381,217 yuan/person respectively. Labor productivity calculated on the basis of total output value of the construction industry maintained growth in 16 regions, among which Jilin, Gansu, Tianjin, and Liaoning had increases exceeding 10%; labor productivity calculated on the basis of total output value of the construction industry declined in 15 regions, among which Tibet and Guizhou both had decreases exceeding 15% (Figure 5). 

Figure 5 / Labor Productivity of the Construction Industry and Its Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

(4) Total Contract Value and Newly Signed Contract Value of Construction Enterprises

In the first half of 2023, the total contract value of construction enterprises in 7 regions—Guangdong, Hubei, Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Shanghai—all exceeded 3 trillion yuan, reaching 5,414.275 billion yuan, 4,320.005 billion yuan, 3,917.644 billion yuan, 3,700.158 billion yuan, 3,600.449 billion yuan, 3,124.304 billion yuan, and 3,014.628 billion yuan respectively. The total contract value in Shandong, Hunan, and Fujian also exceeded 2 trillion yuan. The fastest year-on-year growth in total contract value was in Qinghai, reaching 32.80%. The increases in Hainan, Shaanxi, Shanghai, and Jiangxi also exceeded 15%. The total contract value in 9 regions showed negative growth, among which Guangxi and Inner Mongolia both had negative growth exceeding 8% (Figure 6).

Figure 6 / Total Contract Value of Construction Enterprises and Its Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

In the first half of 2023, the newly signed contract value of construction enterprises in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hubei, and Zhejiang all exceeded 1 trillion yuan, reaching 1,397.412 billion yuan, 1,388.298 billion yuan, 1,296.471 billion yuan, and 1,073.151 billion yuan respectively. The newly signed contract value in 8 other regions—Shandong, Sichuan, Beijing, Fujian, Shaanxi, Shanghai, Hunan, and Anhui—also exceeded 600 billion yuan. The fastest year-on-year growth in newly signed contract value was in Qinghai, reaching 91.68%. The increases in Tibet, Hainan, Tianjin, Shaanxi, Jilin, Hubei, Shanghai, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, and Jiangsu also exceeded 10%. The newly signed contract value in 12 regions showed negative growth, among which Guangxi, Henan, and Xinjiang all had negative growth exceeding 15% (Figure 7).

Figure 7 / Newly Signed Contract Value of Construction Enterprises and Its Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

(5) Floor Space under Construction and Completed Floor Space of Buildings

In the first half of 2023, the floor space under construction by construction enterprises in Jiangsu and Zhejiang both exceeded 1 billion square meters, reaching 1.990 billion square meters and 1.427 billion square meters respectively. The floor space under construction in 8 other regions—Guangdong, Beijing, Shandong, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Shanghai, and Henan—also exceeded 500 million square meters. The fastest year-on-year growth in floor space under construction was in Xinjiang, reaching 19.10%, and the increases in Hunan and Hainan also exceeded 10%. The floor space under construction in 21 regions showed negative growth, among which Tibet's negative growth exceeded 65%, and the negative growth in Qinghai, Liaoning, Guangxi, and Sichuan all exceeded 10% (Figure 8).

Figure 8 / Floor Space under Construction by Construction Enterprises and Its Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

In the first half of 2023, the completed floor space of buildings by construction enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hubei all exceeded 100 million square meters, reaching 249 million square meters, 193 million square meters, and 111 million square meters respectively. The completed floor space of buildings in 7 other regions—Hunan, Guangdong, Shandong, Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Henan—also exceeded 50 million square meters. The growth in completed floor space of buildings in Hainan, Jilin, and Xinjiang all exceeded 50%, and the increases in Shanghai, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia also exceeded 20%. The completed floor space of buildings in 14 regions showed negative growth, among which Guizhou, Henan, Tibet, and Sichuan all had negative growth exceeding 25% (Figure 9).

Figure 9 / Completed Floor Space of Buildings by Construction Enterprises and Its Growth in Various Regions in the First Half of 2023

(6) Indicators and Their Growth by Region

Ranking Tables 1 and 2 respectively list the ranking results of various indicators and their growth by region.

Notes:

All statistical data do not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan Province.

Data sources:

1. National Bureau of Statistics. National Data.

2. National Bureau of Statistics. Preliminary Accounting Results of GDP for the Second Quarter and First Half of 2023

3. National Bureau of Statistics. National Fixed Asset Investment Grew by 3.8% in the First Half of 2023

4. Ministry of Commerce. Brief Statistics of China's Foreign Contracted Projects from January to June 2023

5. Ministry of Commerce. China's Investment and Cooperation with Countries along the "Belt and Road" from January to June 2023

6. Ministry of Commerce. Brief Statistics of China's Foreign Labor Cooperation from January to June 2023