Dongguan's Population Hits 10.8 Million, GDP Surpasses Foshan to Become Guangdong's Third-Largest City

In 2025, Dongguan's permanent population rose to 10.80 million, with an increase of 229,600, ranking second among all Chinese cities after Shenzhen. In the first half of 2026, the total market capitalisation of Dongguan's 64 A-share listed companies exceeded RMB 1.4 trillion, posting a first-half gain of 76.25%, the second-fastest growth among trillion-GDP cities after Wuhan's 80.99%.

From 2023 to 2024, Dongguan's GDP growth lagged behind that of comparable cities. In 2023, the city's industrial output above designated size was RMB 517.1 billion, down 1.9% year-on-year; exports totalled RMB 846.1 billion, down 8.9%. The economy gradually recovered in 2024 and 2025, but growth still trailed the national average. In the first quarter of 2026, Dongguan's GDP grew 5%, matching the national average. In the first half of 2026, GDP reached RMB 642.7 billion, with real growth of 5.1%, exceeding the national average by 0.4 percentage points.

In the first quarter of 2026, Foshan's GDP was RMB 292.3 billion, down 2.4% year-on-year in real terms and 3.91% in nominal terms, a decline of RMB 11.9 billion from the first quarter of 2025. This was Foshan's third consecutive negative GDP reading after the first quarter of 2024 and the full year of 2025. With Dongguan's increase and Foshan's decline, Dongguan overtook Foshan for the first time to become the third-largest city economy in Guangdong.

From January to May 2026, Foshan's fixed-asset investment fell 40.6% year-on-year, investment in real estate development fell 37.6%, and total retail sales of consumer goods were RMB 170.0 billion, down 0.4%. During the same period, Foshan's total imports and exports reached RMB 257.5 billion, up 10.1%, with exports of RMB 199.7 billion, up 8.8%.

In the first half of 2026, Dongguan's industrial output above designated size rose 6.9% year-on-year, with the electronic information manufacturing sector up 8.4% and the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector up 11.3%. Output of advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing grew 7.4% and 9.4% respectively, outpacing the overall industrial growth by 0.5 and 2.5 percentage points. Integrated circuit output jumped 37.0%, industrial robot output rose 35.0%, and mobile phone output increased 17.7%. Fixed-asset investment grew 7.3%, or 14.4% excluding real estate development investment. Total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 222.7 billion, up 1.4%. Total imports and exports were RMB 815.2 billion, up 8.82%, with exports of RMB 490.0 billion, up 7.47%.

Dongguan is home to 220,000 industrial enterprises, including 14,000 above designated size, the second-largest number nationally after Shenzhen. Its manufacturing sector covers 34 industrial categories and more than 60,000 products, anchored by a trillion-rmb class next-generation electronic information industry, a 500-billion-rmb class electrical machinery and equipment industry, and a 100-billion-rmb class new materials industry. The secondary sector accounts for over 55% of the economy, the highest share among all trillion-GDP cities. In 2024, the city ranked seventh nationally in total industrial output above designated size. According to the fifth national economic census, Dongguan had 6.79 million employed persons (excluding self-employed individuals), with employment accounting for 64.7% of the total population, the third-highest ratio in the country. Official data show that Dongguan has 405 urban villages, whose rental housing accounts for 80% of the city's rental stock and can accommodate more than 7 million people.

Dongguan has more than 4,000 toy manufacturers and 1,500 upstream and downstream supporting enterprises, making it the country's largest toy export base. More than one-third of the world's anime derivatives and about 85% of China's trendy toys are produced in Dongguan. The city is pushing the trendy toy industry to extend from contract manufacturing to IP design, original development, and brand operations, and plans to build a 100-billion-rmb class trendy toy and animation cluster.