CHANGSHA: China had 623,260 translation enterprises by the end of 2023, marking a 7.1 percent increase from the previous year, according to China Daily.
The 2024 China Translation Industry Development Report, released by the Translators Association of China (TAC) during its annual conference in Changsha, Hunan province, revealed that the market value of these enterprises reached 68.64 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) in 2023, a 5.6 percent increase from 2022.
Beijing led the country with the highest number of translation enterprises, accounting for 27.5 percent of the total, followed by Shanghai (15.7 percent) and Guangdong province (10.1 percent).
The report also highlighted that China had 6.42 million translators by the end of 2023, a 6.8 percent increase from the previous year. However, the majority of these translators (5.47 million) were working part-time, which the report identified as a key factor hindering the development of translation enterprises.
Despite the growing demand for translation services,
the report noted that only about one-third of students majoring in translation and interpreting have pursued careers in the translation industry. Currently, 309 universities in China offer bachelor’s degrees in translation and interpreting, while 316 provide master’s degrees in the field.
Source: Emirates News Agency