CPC membership surpasses 101 million as Party strengthens grassroots governance

BEIJING: Membership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) surpassed 101 million at the end of 2025, reflecting the Party's continued organisational expansion and its central role in steering China's economic modernisation, governance reforms and national development agenda.

According to a report released on Tuesday by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee ahead of the Party's 105th founding anniversary, the CPC had nearly 101.29 million members by the end of 2025, an increase of more than 1.01 million members, or one per cent, compared with the previous year.

The report also showed steady growth in the Party's organisational network, with more than 5.43 million primary-level Party organisations operating across the country by the end of last year, up by 181,000, or 3.4 per cent, from 2024.

Founded on July 1, 1921, the Communist Party of China has evolved from a small revolutionary organisation into the world's largest governing political party. Over the past century, it has led China through industrialisation, economic reform and opening-up, poverty alleviation, and its current drive toward high-quality development and technological self-reliance.

The latest report indicates that the composition of Party membership continued to improve in both educational attainment and diversity.

By the end of 2025, more than 59.76 million Party members possessed a junior college degree or higher, accounting for 59 per cent of total membership, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year.

Women accounted for 31.5 per cent of CPC membership, while members from China's ethnic minority groups represented 7.8 per cent, marking increases of 0.6 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively.

Workers and farmers continued to form the Party's largest membership group, accounting for 32.4 per cent of the total, underscoring the CPC's longstanding emphasis on maintaining close ties with grassroots communities while broadening representation across different sectors of society.

According to Chinese authorities, the steady expansion of Party membership reflects sustained efforts to strengthen Party-building, improve governance capacity and reinforce the CPC's leadership role at every level of society.

The Organization Department said primary-level Party organisations continue to play a pivotal role in implementing national policies, promoting rural revitalisation, supporting technological innovation, advancing social governance and delivering public services throughout the country.

The membership figures come as China accelerates the implementation of its long-term development strategies, including high-quality economic growth, industrial upgrading, scientific and technological innovation, green development and deeper reform under the guidance of the CPC Central Committee.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed that strengthening Party governance remains fundamental to achieving the country's modernization goals. President Xi Jinping has called for continuously enhancing the Party's organisational strength and self-governance, describing the CPC as the leadership core for advancing Chinese modernization and national rejuvenation.

Official Chinese sources have also highlighted the Party's role in coordinating major national initiatives, including poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, digital transformation, public health reforms and the pursuit of high-level opening-up. Beijing maintains that a strong Party organisation provides institutional stability and policy continuity, enabling China to respond effectively to domestic challenges and an increasingly complex international environment.

As the CPC approaches its 105th anniversary, the latest membership data underscores the Party's continued organisational growth and its enduring role at the centre of China's political system and long-term development strategy.