On April 24th, the 2025 China Translation Association Annual Conference, guided by the China Foreign Languages Administration and hosted by the China Translation Association, the Translation Institute of the China Foreign Languages Administration, and Dalian Foreign Studies University, opened in Dalian, Liaoning. At the opening ceremony, the China Translation Association released the "2025 China Translation Industry Development Report" and the "2025 Global Translation Industry Development Report".
As the only national social organization in the field of translation in China, the China Translation Association has always attached great importance to top-level industry design, regularly conducting industry surveys and research. Since 2012, it has continuously released annual industry development reports, which have received widespread attention from government departments, domestic and foreign industries, academia, and media. This year, based on the new developments, achievements, and challenges in the industry, the China Translation Association conducted extensive research on industry ecology, enterprise operations, talent development, translation technology, and other aspects, and compiled the "2025 China Translation Industry Development Report".
The 2025 Report on the Development of China's Translation Industry mainly includes six parts: the overall development status of China's translation industry, service demand status, enterprise operation status, talent development status, technological development status, industry development trends, and high-quality development suggestions.
The report shows that the main characteristics of China's translation industry in 2024 are: in terms of overall development, the industry's output value, number of enterprises, and talent scale all show a steady growth trend. The total output value for the year is 70.8 billion yuan, and the number of employees has reached 6.808 million. The total number of translation enterprises in operation in the country has exceeded 650000, with the number of enterprises mainly engaged in translation increasing to 14665. The market competition is more active, and the industry is further subdivided.
In terms of service demand, the proportion of demand side self translation has increased, with a 4.9% increase in the proportion of demand side with dedicated translation positions. Conference and exhibition, education and training, and intellectual property are the top three sub sectors of translation business volume. More than half of translation service agencies are concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Improving translation quality, controlling costs, and developing technology are the key to the operation of translation enterprises.
In terms of enterprise operation, private enterprises account for 97.9% of the total number of translation enterprises, constituting the main force of China's translation service market. Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong are home to more than half of the country's translation enterprises.
In terms of talent development, the demand for highly educated and versatile talents has significantly increased, and the integration of translation talent training with segmented fields has been strengthened. The industry has a basic consensus on cultivating practical, versatile, and international translation professional degree doctoral (DTI) talents. The role of translation in economic and social development is increasingly prominent, and the job satisfaction of professional talents has slightly increased.
In terms of technological development, the number of enterprises mainly engaged in translation technology has doubled, and the number of related enterprises in Guangdong Province continues to lead the country. The application scope of translation technology continues to expand, and more than 90% of enterprises actively layout artificial intelligence and large model technology. 70% of universities have already offered related courses.
The report suggests strengthening support for private enterprises in the translation industry and standardizing market competition methods, focusing on industry development trends and high-quality development; Optimize the operation and management of translation enterprises, focusing on cost reduction and efficiency improvement, deep customer cultivation, quality compliance, and comprehensive capabilities; Optimize the professional settings and talent cultivation direction of colleges and universities, and form a closed loop of government, industry, academia, and research; Promote the technological development of the translation industry through a combination of funding, promotion, sharing, and standardization.
At the same time, the Chinese Translators' Association is based domestically and focuses globally. Through in-depth research and analysis of the global translation industry, it has compiled the "2025 Global Translation Industry Development Report".
The 2025 Global Translation Industry Development Report includes five major parts: the current development status of the global translation industry, talent development status, application status of artificial intelligence technology, enterprise operation practice, and industry development trend outlook.
The Report shows that in terms of industry development, the market size of the global translation industry has increased. The estimated market size for the whole year is 55.61 billion dollars. The category and proportion of services based on Internet and machine translation have increased significantly. North America has the largest market in the translation industry, and the proportion of leading translation enterprises in Asia has further increased.
In terms of talent development, the global translation industry is mainly composed of talents over 35 years old. Technological development has increased the demand for high skilled translators in the market. About 34% of global freelance translators have obtained a master's or doctoral degree in translation, and improving their professional reputation and obtaining training are the main demands of translators; The number of academic research achievements in the field of translation in Europe ranks first among all continents, while the number of research achievements in China and the number of institutions where the authors work are among the top in the world.
In terms of the application of artificial intelligence technology, generative artificial intelligence is reshaping the workflow and competitive landscape of the translation industry. Global translation companies are gradually improving their understanding of generative artificial intelligence technology, with 54% of companies believing that AI is beneficial for business development, an increase of 13 percentage points from 2023; The ability to apply artificial intelligence has become a necessary skill for professionals.
In terms of enterprise operation practice, the global translation industry is in a critical period of innovation and transformation. 80% of the world's top translation companies have deployed generative artificial intelligence tools, exploring the transformation towards multimodal localization, artificial intelligence data annotation and other value-added services. Technology innovation enterprises are active in mergers and acquisitions.
In terms of industry development trends, with the widespread application of artificial intelligence technology in the translation industry, the global translation industry is at a critical moment of transformation. Some enterprises are gradually transforming into global content service providers by expanding their services through artificial intelligence technology.
The release of the Industry Development Report by the China Translation Association will provide useful references for industry personnel to understand and grasp the latest development trends and directions of the translation and language services industry in China and globally.