The per capita GDP of the Yangtze River Delta region edged up to $19,500 in 2024, about to surpass the $20,000 threshold for developed economies, according to official data.

The data is released in a recent report jointly published by the Regional Cooperation Office of the Yangtze River Delta, the Shanghai division of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, as well as the China Economic Information Service (CEIS), which is under the Xinhua News Agency.

As one of China's most economically dynamic, open and innovative regions, the Yangtze River Delta region is among the nine world-class city clusters, and its GDP totaled $4.65 trillion last year, only second to the megalopolis between Boston and Washington DC, reported the Shanghai Observer, citing the report.

Although there is still room for improvement in economic efficiency, the Yangtze River Delta region is constantly narrowing the gap in R&D spending intensity, or the expenditure on R&D as a percentage of its gross domestic product, thanks to the continuously growing investment in research and development.

Gathering about 17 percent population within merely 4 percent of China's land area, the Yangtze River Delta region is a key economic engine and ballast of the country. It contributed about a quarter of the nation's total economic output, and some 30 percent of economic growth.