The 2023 report on central China’s top 100 county-level economies was released by the CCID Consulting’s Research Center on County Economies on November 14 in Beijing City. Changsha County, Liuyang County-level City and Ningxiang County-level City were the top three on the list. The three places of Changsha have been among the top 3 on the list for many consecutive years.

The top 100 counties were selected based on an evaluation system on the high-quality development of county-level economies from four aspects, namely, economic strength, growth potential, affluence, and green development.

Additionally, considering central counties' economic development in 2022, a dual threshold for evaluation was set up, that is, any county qualified for evaluation should have a GDP of at least 35 billion yuan and a general public budget revenue of at least 1 billion yuan. The purpose was to better demonstrate development quality and efficiency.

Known as the “No.1 county in central and western regions of China”, Changsha County achieved a GDP of 211.442 billion yuan in 2022. The county has been rated as one of the happiest counties in China for 16 consecutive years.

Liuyang, hometown of fireworks, is also a fertile land for emerging industries. The county-level city is leveraging its strengths in industry, technology, talents and resources, and mode to build itself into a sub center of Changsha and a regional center of the Hunan-Jiangxi border area.

In recent years, Ningxiang, based on its own advantages and functions, has made overall plans for industrial chains, continued to optimize platforms at industrial parks and zones, strengthened industrial support, expanded industrial clusters, constantly enhanced industrial competitive advantages, and comprehensively promoted“shareholder-type” services, thus effectively advancing economic and social development in various fields.