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Country profile

China

At a glance

  • China has a population of about 1.4B; its total GDP of $19.5T ranks #2 of 168 countries with data.
  • Its surface area of 9,562,910 km² is about 48× the world median of 198,330 km².
  • CO₂ emissions (total) stands out most against the median: 13,125 Mt — rank #1 of 165 countries with data.

Where China stands

Population log axis

Population across 169 countries with data: China at 1.4B, rank #2, world median 11.5M, logarithmic axis. Median 11.5M China · 1.4B

GDP (total) log axis

GDP (total) across 168 countries with data: China at $19.5T, rank #2, world median $80.7B, logarithmic axis. Median $80.7B China · $19.5T

GDP per capita log axis

GDP per capita across 168 countries with data: China at $13,862, rank #61, world median $6,834, logarithmic axis. Median $6,834 China · $13,862

Life expectancy

Life expectancy across 169 countries with data: China at 78.0 years, rank #48, world median 73.8 years. Median 73.8 years China · 78.0 years

Every dot is one country with data — the highlighted dot is this country; the dashed line marks the world median. Wide-range metrics use a logarithmic axis (tagged) so the whole field stays readable.

China: all 46 metrics vs the world median

Metric Value Trend Rank vs median
Population & land
Population 1.4B (2025) +10% #2 / 169 median 11.5M · 122×
Population growth -0.2% (2025) −125% #153 / 169 N/A
Urban population share 66.3% (2025) +70% #76 / 169 median 63.8% · 1.0×
Population aged 65+ 14.9% (2025) +101% #51 / 169 median 7.4% · 2.0×
Fertility rate 1.0 (2024) −35% #166 / 169 median 2.1 · 48%
Birth rate 6.8‰ (2024) −47% #161 / 169 median 16.0‰ · 42%
Death rate 7.8‰ (2024) +21% #71 / 169 median 7.1‰ · 1.1×
Net migration -268.1K (2025) #162 / 169 N/A
Surface area 9,562,910 km² (2023) #5 / 176 median 198,330 km² · 48×
Population density derived 147/km² (2025) +10% #38 / 169 median 75.5/km² · 1.9×
Economy
GDP (total) $19.5T (2025) +1209% #2 / 168 median $80.7B · 242×
GDP per capita $13,862 (2025) +1091% #61 / 168 median $6,834 · 2.0×
GNI per capita $14,230 (2025) +1159% #57 / 168 median $6,350 · 2.2×
GDP growth (annual) 5.0% (2025) −46% #42 / 168 median 3.1% · 1.6×
Inflation rate 0.1% (2025) #151 / 162 median 3.3% · 2%
Unemployment rate 4.6% (2025) +9% #101 / 168 median 5.1% · 90%
Gini index 36.0 (2022) −14% #70 / 153 median 35.3 · 1.0×
Poverty rate ($2.15/day) 0.0% (2022) −100% #144 / 153 N/A
Trade & industry
Exports share of GDP 21.1% (2025) −6% #127 / 163 median 35.0% · 60%
Imports share of GDP 16.9% (2025) −15% #153 / 163 median 40.2% · 42%
Agriculture share of GDP 6.7% (2025) −49% #89 / 168 median 7.2% · 93%
Manufacturing share of GDP 24.7% (2025) −22% #7 / 165 median 11.2% · 2.2×
International tourist arrivals 30.4M (2020) −69% #11 / 162 median 1.1M · 27×
Tourism receipts $27.8B (2004) +28% #6 / 165 median $705M · 39×
Health & education
Life expectancy 78.0 years (2024) +7% #48 / 169 median 73.8 years · 1.1×
Infant mortality 4.1‰ (2024) −84% #129 / 166 median 13.1‰ · 31%
Under-five mortality 5.7‰ (2024) −82% #127 / 166 median 15.8‰ · 36%
DPT immunization 97.0% (2024) +13% #24 / 166 median 90.5% · 1.1×
Hospital beds 5.6 per 1,000 (2023) +225% #20 / 167 median 2.0 per 1,000 · 2.8×
Health spending share of GDP 5.9% (2023) +38% #93 / 165 median 6.5% · 91%
Secondary school enrollment 92.3% (2012) +47% #75 / 167 median 90.5% · 1.0×
Education spending share of GDP 3.9% (2023) #93 / 165 median 4.1% · 94%
Society & living
Human Development Index 0.797 (2023) +29% #65 / 165 median 0.754 · 1.1×
Internet users 91.6% (2025) +1893% #39 / 169 median 81.5% · 1.1×
Mobile subscriptions 131.8 per 100 (2024) +723% #42 / 169 median 116.4 per 100 · 1.1×
Fixed broadband 47.2 per 100 (2024) +18312% #3 / 168 median 12.1 per 100 · 3.9×
Electricity access 100.0% (2024) +3% #15 / 169 median 99.9% · 1.0×
Environment & security
CO₂ emissions per capita 9.3 t (2024) +189% #18 / 165 median 2.6 t · 3.5×
CO₂ emissions (total) derived 13,125 Mt (2024) +218% #1 / 165 median 21.3 Mt · 615×
Renewable electricity share 28.4% (2021) +61% #91 / 169 median 34.1% · 83%
Renewable energy consumption 15.2% (2021) −44% #115 / 169 median 26.9% · 57%
Forest area 24.0% (2023) +24% #101 / 169 median 32.4% · 74%
Agricultural land 55.4% (2023) −1% #43 / 169 median 41.7% · 1.3×
Arable land 11.5% (2023) −10% #78 / 168 median 11.0% · 1.0×
PM2.5 exposure 32.0 µg/m³ (2023) −31% #42 / 168 median 19.8 µg/m³ · 1.6×
Military spending 1.7% (2024) −17% #81 / 157 median 1.8% · 95%

Ranks are value-descending and count only the countries that have data for that metric (#1 = highest value); N/A rows occupy no rank.

The median is the unweighted middle value across the countries with data (gold tick) — not a world average. Bars grow with the value: reaching the tick means matching the median, and a full bar means twice the median or more. The median value and this country's multiple are noted under each bar.

China's true-shape outline

China's border outline from Natural Earth 1:110m boundaries — total surface area 9,562,910 km².

China head-to-head pages

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China city time series

Shanghai: built-up area and population, epoch by epoch →

Open China in the interactive compare tool →

See China's true size on the drag-and-drop map →

Measure the distance to China →

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Other countries

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Data & method

Indicators: World Bank Open Data, 43 indicators — CC BY 4.0 © World Bank — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/; Surface area (sq. km) — CC BY 4.0 © World Bank — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/; Human Development Index — CC BY 3.0 IGO © United Nations Development Programme — https://hdr.undp.org/terms-use

Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:110m (public domain); surface areas are computed with an equal-area spherical formula (Chamberlin–Duquette).

Reference facts (capital, languages, currencies, subregion): mledoze/countries (ODbL).