Digital 2022: China
This page contains a wealth of data, insights, and trends to help you understand how people in China use connected devices and services in 2022.
You’ll find our complete Digital 2022 report on China in the “full report” section below, but let’s start by taking a look at the essential headlines for digital adoption and use in China this year.
China’s population in 2022
China’s total population was 1.45 billion in January 2022.
Data show that China’s population increased by 4.57 million (+0.3 percent) between 2021 and 2022.
48.7 percent of China’s population is female, while 51.3 percent of the population is male.
At the start of 2022, 63.4 percent of China’s population lived in urban centres, while 36.6 percent lived in rural areas.
Note: gender data are currently only available for “female” and “male”.
China’s population by age
The median age of the population in China is 39.1.
For additional context, here’s a look at how the population in China breaks down by age group:
5.6 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 0 and 4.
9.5 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 5 and 12.
5.8 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 13 and 17.
8.1 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 18 and 24.
14.6 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 25 and 34.
14.2 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 35 and 44.
16.2 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 45 and 54.
13.2 percent of China’s population is between the ages of 55 and 64.
12.8 percent of China’s population is aged 65 and above.
Note: percentages may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
Internet use in China in 2022
There were 1.02 billion internet users in China in January 2022.
China’s internet penetration rate stood at 70.9 percent of the total population at the start of 2022.
Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in China increased by 35.9 million (+3.6 percent) between 2021 and 2022.
For perspective, these user figures reveal that 421 million people in China did not use the internet at the start of 2022, meaning that 29.1 percent of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year.
However, issues relating to COVID-19 continue to impact research into internet adoption, so actual internet user figures may be higher than these published numbers suggest (see here for further details).
For the latest insights into internet adoption and use around the world, follow our regular Global Statshot reports.
Internet connection speeds in China in 2022
Data published by Ookla indicate that internet users in China could have expected the following internet connection speeds at the start of 2022:
Median mobile internet connection speed via cellular networks: 96.84 Mbps
Median fixed internet connection speed: 146.62 Mbps
Ookla’s data reveals that the median mobile internet connection speed in China increased by 43.01 Mbps (+79.9 percent) in the twelve months to the start of 2022.
Meanwhile, Ookla’s data shows that fixed internet connection speeds in China increased by 52.40 Mbps (+55.6 percent) during the same period.
Social media statistics for China in 2022
There were 983 million social media users in China in January 2022.
The number of social media users in China at the start of 2022 was equivalent to 68.0 percent of the total population, but it’s important to note that social media users may not represent unique individuals (see our detailed notes on data to learn why).
Kepios analysis reveals that social media users in China increased by 52.5 million (+5.6 percent) between 2021 and 2022.
Mobile connections in China in 2022
Data from GSMA Intelligence shows that there were 1.63 billion cellular mobile connections in China at the start of 2022.
However, note that many people around the world make use of more than one mobile connection – for example, they might have one connection for personal use, and another one for work – so it’s not unusual for mobile connection figures to significantly exceed figures for total population.
GSMA Intelligence’s numbers indicate that mobile connections in China were equivalent to 113 percent of the total population in January 2022.
The number of mobile connections in China increased by 29.2 million (+1.8 percent) between 2021 and 2022.
Additional resources
Just before we get to the full report, here are some suggestions for further reading, which will provide additional context for our full set of Digital 2022 numbers for China:
Read our complete Digital 2022 Global Overview Report to get a comprehensive overview of the “state of digital” around the world in 2022.
Click here to see all of the Global Digital Reports we’ve published on China over the past decade.
Explore all of our reports on countries in Eastern Asia by clicking here.
Visit our complete online reports library to find all of the (free!) reports in the Global Digital Reports series.
If you’d like to receive updates when we publish new reports, click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Full report
You’ll find our complete Digital 2022: China report in the SlideShare embed below (click here if that’s not working for you).