The nine mainland cities that form part of the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province collectively amassed a gross domestic product (GDP) of around 11.9 trillion yuan (US$1.71 trillion) last year, according to official data cited by Nanfang Daily. When compared to 2024’s GDP of 11.5 trillion yuan, the current figure represents an increase of 3.48 percent.
When analysed as a whole, the Pearl River Delta’s mainland cities accounted for more than 80 percent of Guangdong province’s 2025 GDP, which amounted to 14.58 trillion yuan (US$2.09 trillion).
The cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan were especially important to the area’s economic development, with their economies each hitting more than a trillion yuan (US$144.13 billion).
Of special note are the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen whose combined GDP reached 7 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly 70 percent (293.68 billion yuan, US$42.32 billion) of Guangdong’s economic growth (421.29 billion yuan, US$60.72 billion)
Both urban centres managed to surpass the 3 trillion yuan (US$432.39 billion) GDP milestone in 2025, with Guangzhou registering a GDP of approximately 3.2 trillion yuan (US$461.22 billion), and Shenzhen recording a GDP of 3.87 trillion yuan (US$557.79 billion).
The two cities’ strong economic performance last year was bolstered by a number of economically powerful districts. Shenzhen’s Nanshan district – home to some of China’s top tech firms – earned a GDP of more than 1 trillion yuan (US$144.13 billion) in 2025, becoming the first Chinese district not under the central government’s direct administration to reach this milestone.
Meanwhile, Futian district in Shenzhen and Tianhe district in Guangzhou were estimated to have hit roughly 642 billion yuan (US$92.53 billion) and over 700 billion yuan (US$100.89 billion) respectively.
[See more: Guangdong’s GDP grew 3.9 percent in 2025, topping China’s list for 37 straight years]
Overall, the two economic powerhouses accounted for roughly 60 percent of the Pearl River Delta’s GDP and over 40 percent of the entire province’s GDP.
In terms of year-on-year economic growth in the Pearl River Delta, Shenzhen earned the top spot, with a growth rate of 5.5 percent. This was followed by Huizhou (4.5 percent), Guangzhou (4 percent) and Dongguan (4 percent), Zhongshan (3.8 percent), Zhaoqing (3.1 percent), Zhuhai (2.7 percent), Jiangmen (2.8 percent) and Foshan (0.2 percent).
As for foreign trade, Shenzhen’s announced a record-breaking total of 4.55 trillion yuan (US$655.8 billion) in 2025, up by 1.4 percent in comparison to 2024. This figure accounts for 48 percent of the total trade output in Guangdong and 10 percent across the entire country.
Meanwhile, Dongguan reported foreign trade of 1.58 trillion yuan (US$227.72 billion), an increase of 13.8 percent year-on-year.
As for the provincial capital of Guangzhou, Guangzhou Daily noted that the city’s foreign trade hit 1.2 trillion (US$172.95 billion), up by 10.4 percent in comparison to 2024. Huizhou’s foreign trade reached around 428 billion yuan (US$61.68 billion), a rise of 8.8 percent.
With an estimated population of around 86 million people, the Pearl River Delta is one of the largest urbanised regions in the world. Together with the two Special Administrative Regions of Macao and Hong Kong, it forms the Greater Bay Area.
