Before deciding whether educational qualifications have lost value, check China’s education profile: only 15467 per 100000 have college-level education (2020 census; about 19% estimated in the 2025 sample survey)
In the 2020 census, people nationwide who reached junior college or above were about 15%. The 2025 sample survey estimates about 19%, a few percentage points more in five years. In both, people with junior high were the largest group. People aged 15 and above averaged only 9.91 years of schooling, just past junior-high graduation. So a junior-high credential is the most common band in China, not a scarce one.
Zero. All you need to do is glance at the numbers below.
The reference point for the seventh national census was November 1, 2020. At that time, 218360767 people natio…
Zero. All you need to do is glance at the numbers below.
The reference point for the seventh national census was November 1, 2020. At that time, 218360767 people nationwide had a college education or higher, while 213005258 had a high school education (including vocational school). The number of people with a junior high school education was 487163489, and those with a primary school education totaled 349658828. Compared to the sixth national census in 2010, the number of people per 100000 with a college education rose from 8930 to 15467, while those with a high school education increased from 14032 to 15088. Conversely, the number of people with a junior high school education fell from 38788 to 34507, and those with a primary school education dropped from 26779 to 24767. The average years of schooling for people aged 15 and older rose from 9.08 to 9.91 years, and the illiteracy rate declined from 4.08% to 2.67%. The reference date for the 2025 national 1% population sample survey was November 1, 2025, with a sample of 20520000 people. The sample yielded an estimated national population of 1405450000. Of these, 272330000 had junior-college education or above, 242720000 had senior-secondary education (including secondary vocational schools), 452830000 had junior-secondary education, and 331220000 had primary education. The bulletin did not provide counts per 100000 people. Calculated from its population totals, college education accounted for about 19.4% and junior-secondary education for about 32.2%, still the largest category.
国家统计局、国务院第七次全国人口普查领导小组办公室 (2021). 第七次全国人口普查公报（第六号）——人口受教育情况. https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/202302/t20230206_1902006.html；国家统计局 (2026). 2025 年全国 1% 人口抽样调查主要数据公报. https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202605/t20260522_1963788.html
Open source linkThese figures only show how scarce a credential is in the population. Whether schooling pays for a particular person, run the method in item 6 of this section (how to weigh study against going to work). Also note: the census counts the whole national population, including the old and the young, not the labor force and not your age peers. The bulletin does not break the figures by age. From the rise of more than seven tenths in people with a college education per 100000 from 2010 to 2020, the share among young people is likely higher than the national figure; that is an inference. So comparing yourself with age peers using the national figure overstates your edge. What it can show is: in the national population, a college education is still a minority. The 2025 figures are a sample estimate; the census counts every household. The two use different bases, so both sets are shown side by side and the new figures do not replace the old. The 19.4% and 32.2% are calculated ourselves from the bulletin's headcounts and the total population. The beneficiary is you