Macro data:
China Statistics Yearbook 2020: The China Statistical Yearbook is a comprehensive database which fully reflects the economic and social development in China. It covers demographic, national economic accounting, agriculture, industry, energy, investment, domestic trade, import and export, finance, environment, education and technology, etc., with some important indicators being recorded since 1949.
CNKI Knowledge Network Service Platform: There are 1086 titles, 8523 volumes of statistical yearbooks and 2567673 entries (including 1811054 statistical charts) altogether collected in the database. Important statistical yearbooks include Almanac of China's Finance and Banking, China Industry Statistical Yearbook, China Labour Statistical Yearbook, Educational Statistics Yearbook of China, China City Statistical Yearbook, etc.
China Premium Database (CEIC): The total amount of data is about 300,000, including 19 macro indicators and 21 industry indicators. Regional economic data covers 287 prefecture-level cities, 53 prefecture-level regions, more than 2,000 counties and 4 autonomous regions. Historical data can be traced back to 1949, which is convenient for historical research. Purchase is required.
EPS China Data: EPS China Data is a leading China data provider since 2008, offering the largest and most comprehensive collection of data on China totally in the form of time series data. Commonly used macro databases include China Macro Economy Database, China Fiscal and Taxation Database, etc. Commonly used micro databases include China Industry Economy Database.
The Macro Economy and Real Estate Database: This website database is composed of information database, policy and regulations database, housing transaction database, land market database, benchmarking enterprise database, etc. It is a professional real estate information website sponsored by the National Information Center, which mainly describes and studies the current situation and development trends of China’s real estate industry. Chinese only.
Yangtze River Economic Belt Big Data Platform: As a national strategy, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has attracted the attention of the world and will become a potential power for China's future development. The platform regularly publishes the development evaluation index of 110 cities along the Yangtze River, providing more than 2 million time series data of 1k+ counties and 15k+ towns in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
China Data Online: China Data Online provides statistical information from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China in English. Coverage includes China Yearly Macro-economy Statistics (1949-), China Monthly Macro-economy Statistics (1998-), Monthly Reports on Economy Development (2002-), China City Statistics (1996-), China County Statistics (1997-), China Industrial Data (2001-), and various statistical yearbooks (2002-), as well as provincial and county-level data from the 2000 census. Data can be searched or browsed; it is presented in tabular format and can be downloaded as an Excel file or copied and pasted. Subscription is required.
Micro data:
Chinese Private Enterprise Survey (CPES): This survey investigates 2.03 million private enterprises and business owners in Mainland China. It mainly focuses on the personal characteristics of private business owners, especially their social and political characteristics. Application and registration is required.
China Industry Enterprise Database: The statistical objects of the database are large and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises with an annual turnover of 5 million yuan and above (adjusted to 20 million yuan since 2011). All data are collected at the enterprise level, including enterprise characteristics and economic indicators. Kyoto University purchased the database for 1998-2011 periods. Visit Prof. Kono's office for getting access to the dataset (716 at Faculty of Law and Faculty of Economics East Bldg. upon appointment).
China Family Panel Studies (CFPS): CFPS is a nationally representative, biennial longitudinal survey of Chinese communities, families, and individuals launched in 2010 by the Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS) of Peking University, China. The CFPS is designed to collect individual-, family-, and community-level longitudinal data in contemporary China. The studies focus on the economic, as well as the non-economic, wellbeing of the Chinese population, with a wealth of information covering such topics as economic activities, education outcomes, family dynamics and relationships, migration, and health. Registration is required.
China Household Income Projects (CHIP): CHIP has conducted five waves of household surveys, in 1989, 1996, 2003, 2008 and 2013, in order to track the dynamics of income distribution in China. They covered the income and expenditure information in 1988, 1995, 2002, 2007 and 2013 respectively and called CHIP1988, CHIP1995, CHIP2002, CHIP2007, and CHIP2013. All the CHIP waves contain surveys of urban and rural households. Registration is required.
China Household Finance Survey (CHFS): CHFS is a repeated cross section survey conducted every two years led by Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. It has collected micro-level financial information about Chinese households all over the country in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. This includes information about housing and financial assets; liabilities and credit restraints; income and expenditures; social security and insurance; intergenerational transfer payments; demographic characteristics; employment status and payment habits; and many others. Registration is required.
Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS): CGSS is an annual or biannual questionnaire survey led by Renmin University of China, aiming to monitor systematically the changing relationship between social structure and quality of life in urban and rural China. The newest 2017 data has been released so far. Other years are available in Chinese: 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015. Registration is required.
China Education Panel Survey (CEPS): CEPS applies a stratified, multistage sampling design with probability proportional to size (PPS), randomly selecting a school-based, nationally representative sample of approximately 20,000 students in 438 classrooms of 112 schools in 28 county-level units in mainland China. The baseline survey of CEPS was completed in the 2013-2014 academic year. Follow-up surveys are annual as the sample adolescents matriculate throughout the junior-high stage and in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 8th, 17th and 27th year after they graduate from junior-high.
China Customs Statistics: China Customs statistics are the country’s official external merchandise trade statistics. China Customs is responsible for trade data collection, processing, compilation and publication. By adopting standard concepts and definitions recommended by the United Nations for use in the international trade statistics, China Customs figures are comprehensive, reliable and internationally comparable. Please visit this link for quick search.
CCER Database: The database covers China's macro economic and micro financial data. The standard database is divided into 14 major sections, including A-share market, Shanghai/Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect data, and NEEQ data; the special database provides China industrial enterprise database, customs database, county-level fiscal database, patent database, environmental database and tourism database.
China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database (CSMAR): CSMAR is a comprehensive research-oriented database focusing on China Finance and Economy. The data mainly includes: economy, company situation, stock market, fund market, bond market, futures market, foreign exchange market, gold market, Hong Kong market and overseas market, etc. But it can only be accessed within the IP range of the institution that purchase the data. Purchase is required.
Wind Data: It is the leading financial data provider in China. The SSE & SZSE Stock Database accesses the deepest and broadest set of data on Chinese listed companies including fundamental, pricing, capital structure, corporate governance, transactions, events, news, and ownership data. The China Bond Database provides comprehensive data on China's fixed income markets including fundamental, pricing, credit rating, and transaction data. Purchase is required.
CnOpenChina: This is a comprehensive data platform covering economics, finance, law, medical care, humanities and other disciplines. 46 thematic databases are now available, covering patent data, listed company data, COVID-19 data and others. Chinese only. Registration is required.
China Microdata Query System: Based on firm-level microdata, it has four sub-databases, including industrial enterprise database, customs database, innovative enterprise database, and green development database. Chinese only. Registration is required.
China Patent Database: This database contains all Chinese patent information announced since 2010, including application, inventor and transaction data. The website is only available in Chinese. For more patent search and analysis, please visit this link where registration is required.
China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS): CHARLS aims to collect a high quality nationally representative sample of Chinese residents ages 45 and older to serve the needs of scientific research on the elderly. The baseline survey was launched in 2011, covering 150 county-level units, 450 village-level units, and about 10,000 households. These samples will be tracked every two years. Registration is required.
China Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS): CHNS was designed to examine the effects of the health, nutrition, and family planning policies and programs implemented by national and local governments and to see how the social and economic transformation of Chinese society is affecting the health and nutritional status of its population. The survey took place over a 7-day period using a multistage, random cluster process to draw a sample of about 7,200 households with over 30,000 individuals in 15 provinces and municipal cities. Registration is required.
The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS): The baseline survey was conducted in 1998 and the follow-up surveys were conducted in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008-2009, 2011-2012, 2014 and 2017-2018 in randomly selected about half of the counties and city districts in 23 Chinese provinces. The questionnaire data collected provides information on family structure, living arrangements and proximity to children, activities of daily living (ADL), the capacity of physical performance, self-rated health, self-evaluation of life satisfaction, cognitive functioning, chronic disease prevalence, care needs and costs, social activities, diet, smoking and drinking behaviors, psychological characteristics, economic resources, and care giving and family support among elderly respondents and their relatives. Registration is required.
Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China (ESIEC): The baseline survey was conducted in 2018. The sample includes a total of 58,500 corporations and individual household businesses in 117 counties and districts in Liaoning Province, Shanghai Municipality, Zhejiang Province, Henan Province, Guangdong Province and Gansu Province. The content of the survey mainly surrounds entrepreneur's entrepreneurial history and enterprise's creation process, basic information, operating conditions, innovation, network relationships, and business environment. Registration is required.
China Rural Studies Database: This database integrates the results of research projects in rural villages, small- and medium-sized cities , and collects rare historical archives. As of now, the website contains survey reports, survey data, folk documents, official documents, chronicles, oral materials, etc., with more than 1 billion words, 250,000 pictures and charts, and more than 1,000 audio and video files. The data is only available in Chinese now.
Poverty Alleviation Database: This database contains information on poverty research models, causes of poverty, poverty reduction paths, poverty reduction research by foreign think tanks, international poverty reduction and other academic resources, covering 832 national poverty alleviation and development work key counties and14 destitute areas. The data is only available in Chinese now.
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Cooperative Development Database: The website is based on the "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Planning Outline" and is a comprehensive platform for in-depth academic literature on the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. As of 2020, 528 books, 10,500 reports, and 240 million words have been included. The data is only available in Chinese now and is text type.
Urban Household Survey (1986-1992): It aims to study the conditions and standard of living of urban households. With the use of sampling techniques and daily accounting method, the survey collects data from non-agricultural households in different cities and counties. It records household information about income and consumption expenditure, demographic characteristics, work and employment, accommodation and other family related matters. Please visit this link for 1993-1997 data. Application and usage fee is required.
The Gansu Survey of Children and Families(GSCF): This is a longitudinal, multi-level study of rural children's welfare outcomes, including education, health, and psycho-social development. Data have been collected in 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2009.
The China Urban Labor Survey(CULS): The CULS was administered from November 2001 to January 2002 in five large Chinese cities: Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan, Xian and Fuzhou. In four of the cities the surveys were conducted by the urban survey unit of the provincial statistical bureau and in Shenyang by the enterprise survey unit. Registration is required.
Industrial Enterprise Survey: The main survey was conducted in the spring of 2006 on 1,268 firms in 12 cities: Changchun, Dandong, Chifeng, Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Xi’an, Zibo, Chongqing, Shiyan, Wujiang, Hangzhou, and Shunde. The questionnaire of the survey was administered on firm management and its aim was to ask the management to report information on the firm’s CSR performance. Registration is required.
Rural China 2000-Nationally Representative Survey: This survey was conducted in November and December, 2000, in six provinces across rural China, aiming to study rural poverty and development. The data was collected at village-level, including the basic characteristics of villages and the governance structure. Registration is required.
China Micro Enterprise Survey (CMES): The large-scale national survey was carried out in 2015. The main subjects of the survey were small and medium-sized enterprises, and family workshops with independent legal personality. The sample size reached more than 5,400, covering 28 provinces in total. Application and registration is required.
Chinese Family Database (CFD): CDF contains four rounds of China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS) data from 2011 to 2017. It covers relatively complete information on Chinese rural households, including family structure, employment, income and expenditure, population migration and citizenization, financial behaviour, social security, education, etc. Application is required.
Emerging Markets Information Service (EMIS): EMIS provides a full range of market dynamics and business information in more than 180 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and North and South America. Information is directly provided by local information providers and expressed in English and local languages at the same time. It includes information on country, company and industry, covering 80 emerging markets.
Rural-Urban Migration in China(RUMiC): Started in 2006, RUMiC aims to understand the institutional barriers that restrict rural-to-urban migration and how to improve rural migrants’ living conditions. RUMiC is a longitudinal survey conducted every year, collecting household-level data about migrants’ health, education, employment, social networks, household income and expenditure, housing conditions, and place of origin. The annual sample size consists of 5,000 migrant households living in 15 cities across 9 major provinces with the highest level of rural to urban migration. Application is required.
Thousand-Village Survey in Guangdong: This survey aims to document recent rural and agricultural development in Guangdong province and provide researchers with household-level data to evaluate the impact of a rural vitalization strategy implemented by the central government since 2018. The survey records detailed information about targeted poverty alleviation, rural governance, ecological environment, education, land acquisition, development of rural finance, and other aspects. Application is required.
Chinese Social Survey (CSS) : CSS is a nationwide large-scale continuous project initiated by the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2005. The aim is to provide detailed information on social changes in China during the transition period. The survey is biennia, covering 31 provinces and municipalities across the country, with 7000-10000+ households. Data are now available for year 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. Application is required.
Provincial data websites:
Beijing: Major censuses conducted by Beijing statistical authorities include population census, agricultural census and economic census. Population census is made every 10 years in year whose mantissa is 0; agricultural census is made every 10 years in year whose mantissa is 6; and economic census is conducted every 5 years in year whose mantissa is 3 and 8. For Beijing Statistical Yearbook 2021, please click here.
Shanghai: The website provides monthly and annual data. For Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2020, please click here.