Hunan's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 1,315.61 billion CNY in the first quarter of this year (Q1), representing a year-on-year increase of 3%. Specifically, the added value of the primary sector grew 4.2% to 63.813 billion CNY while that of the secondary sector increased 1.6% to 450.135 billion CNY. The tertiary sector's added value was 801.662 billion CNY, up 3.6%, said the Hunan Provincial Bureau of Statistics on April 20, 2026.

The industrial development has shown steady and positive growth. The added value of Hunan's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries sectors increased 4.3% year on year, accelerating 0.7 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The added value of the province's large-scale industrial enterprises grew 2.4%, up 2.1 percentage points compared to the January-February period. Among these, the equipment manufacturing remained a stable pillar, with the added value rising 4.1% and contributing 1.4 percentage points to the overall growth of large-scale industrial enterprises.

Demand potential has been steadily unleashed. Hunan's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 510.12 billion CNY. The retail sales of telecommunications equipment by large-scale wholesale and retail enterprises grew 29.6%, an acceleration of two percentage points compared to the January-February period. The retail sales of cultural and office supplies rose 7%, accelerating 2.8 percentage points compared to the first two months. Imports and exports grew at a relatively fast pace, with the provincial total foreign trade volume amounting to 144.215 billion CNY, an increase of 16.6%. Among these, exports of the "new three" products—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products surged 85.5%.

The development of new-quality productive forces steps up. The added value of large-scale high-tech manufacturing enterprises provincewide increased 3.7% year on year. Among these, the output of memory chips, optoelectronic devices, and sensors at large-scale industrial enterprises grew 80.8%, 21.9%, and 20.1%, respectively.

Both quality and efficiency of economic development have improved significantly. Hunan's local general public budget revenue grew 1.3% to 98.841 billion CNY. The value-added output of large-scale industries in industrial parks at provincial level or above rose 4.8%, which was 2.4 percentage points faster than the growth rate of all the large-scale industries.

The well-being of the people has continued to improve. The province created 197,600 new urban jobs, helped 107,700 unemployed individuals find re-employment, and found jobs for 18,900 people facing employment difficulties, achieving 28.2%, 35.9%, and 29.1% of the annual targets, respectively. Per capita disposable income for all residents increased 4.8%, with urban and rural residents' per capita disposable income rising 3.8% and 6.0% respectively.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.  

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn