National Bureau of Statistics: Q1 Healthcare CPI Rises 1.8% YoY, GDP Grows 5.0%

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

DentalGoodNews｜On April 16, 2026, the National Bureau of Statistics released the national economic performance data for the first quarter of 2026. The gross domestic product (GDP) for the quarter reached 33,419.3 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.0% at constant prices, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.5 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.9% year-on-year, with the healthcare sub-index increasing by 1.8% year-on-year.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

Among the eight major categories of consumer prices, the year-on-year increase in healthcare prices in the first quarter was approximately 0.9 percentage points higher than the overall CPI level. In March alone, the healthcare CPI rose by 1.9% year-on-year.

On the income side, the national per capita disposable income in the first quarter was 12,782 yuan, representing a nominal year-on-year increase of 4.9% and a real increase of 4.0% after adjusting for price factors. By urban and rural areas, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 16,549 yuan, with a nominal year-on-year increase of 4.2% and a real increase of 3.2%; the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 7,433 yuan, with a nominal year-on-year increase of 6.1% and a real increase of 5.4%. The national median per capita disposable income was 10,433 yuan, with a nominal year-on-year increase of 5.0%.

In the first quarter, the national per capita consumption expenditure was 7,955 yuan, representing a real year-on-year increase of 2.6%; the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 12,769.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%, accelerating by 0.7 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year; retail sales of services increased by 5.5% year-on-year, maintaining the same growth rate as the full year of the previous year.

On the production side, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size in the first quarter increased by 6.1% year-on-year, accelerating by 1.1 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year; the value-added of high-tech manufacturing increased by 12.5% year-on-year. By product, the output of 3D Printing equipment and industrial robots increased by 54.0% and 33.2% year-on-year, respectively. In the first quarter, the total value of goods imports and exports reached 11,838.0 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.0%, with exports amounting to 6,846.7 billion yuan, an increase of 11.9%, and imports amounting to 4,991.3 billion yuan, an increase of 19.6%.

Regarding employment, the average urban surveyed unemployment rate in the first quarter was 5.3%, unchanged from the same period last year. The national average weekly working hours for enterprise employees were 48.1 hours.

According to previous reports by DGN, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the profit of the Oral/Dental equipment and appliance manufacturing industry increased by 29.7% year-on-year in 2025, higher than the average growth rate of industrial enterprises above designated size and the manufacturing sector nationwide during the same period.