Changes in the ranking of land transfer income across Chinese provinces from 1998 to 2025

1. Historical shifts in land transfer revenue by province from 1998 to 2025

Economic development and public finance are two sides of the same coin. Provinces with higher levels of economic development often have larger land transfer revenue. Most provinces in the eastern region lead the country in the scale of land transfer revenue, but in the past four years (2022–2025), their land transfer revenues have been noticeably compressed—such as Guangdong—due to the slowdown and transition of the real estate market.

Before the adjustment of the real estate market, coastal provinces in the east had relatively high levels of economic development, with continued population inflows and high real estate market heat. Their land markets were more active, with strong demand. Between 1998 and 2005, Jiangsu Province’s land transfer revenue rose from fourth to first, and thereafter it remained in first place for most years. Since 1998, Zhejiang Province has consistently ranked among the top in the country in land transfer revenue. Driven by the digital economy, Zhejiang gained additional momentum; with rapid population inflows, starting in 2016, Zhejiang’s land transfer revenue scale surged and has remained firmly in the top two nationwide. Shandong Province, built on its advantages as an industrial province, has strongly promoted land acquisition and investment. Since 2005, its land transfer revenue has remained among the top four nationwide. In 2022, Shandong launched a shift from old to new growth drivers, and in 2025, its land transfer revenue ranked third nationwide for four consecutive years. As a forerunner of China’s economic development, Guangdong’s land transfer revenue reached 27% of the national scale in 1999, topping the country. After Guangdong’s land transfer revenue was surpassed by Jiangsu and Zhejiang in 2000, its ranking steadily declined to ninth in 2004. After 2005, the central government initiated multiple rounds of real estate regulation. However, due to soaring land prices in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong’s land transfer revenue rose amid fluctuations, with rankings hovering around fifth between 2005 and 2012. In 2013, Guangdong’s land transfer revenue first exceeded 300 billion yuan (RMB 300B元). From 2013 to 2021, it remained steadily in the top four. Since 2022, the real estate market in the Greater Bay Area (Pearl River Delta) has deteriorated severely. In 2023, Guangdong’s land transfer revenue ranking fell to fifth; in 2024 and 2025, it ranked sixth. Owing to constraints on land resources, Beijing and Shanghai have relatively high land premiums, and their land markets have been heavily affected by real estate policy regulation. As a result, the rankings of land transfer revenue over the years have shown some fluctuation: in 2025, Shanghai and Beijing ranked fifth and eighth, respectively, in land transfer revenue. Overall, in 2025, the total land transfer revenue of 10 provinces and cities in the eastern region reached 2.48 trillion yuan, still accounting for 59.6% of the national total. The pattern of land transfer revenue concentration in the eastern region has not changed yet.

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