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🇦🇫 Afghanistan vs 🇨🇳 China

China has 1.36B more people — 1,406,585,000 against 43,844,111. Below, 34 indicators both countries publish, side by side.

🇦🇫 Afghanistan
43,844,111
Asia · rank #36 · +2.77%
World Bank, 2025
🇨🇳 China
1,406,585,000
Asia · rank #2 · −0.17%
World Bank, 2025

Every Shared Indicator

34 indicators published for both countries. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.

Values are each country's most recent published observation, so the two sides of a row may be from different years — the country pages show the year for each.
IndicatorAfghanistanChina
Population43,844,11136th of 2401,406,585,0002nd of 240
Annual Growth Rate+2.77%21st of 240−0.17%208th of 240
Population Density/km²64/km²153rd of 240150/km²82nd of 240
Land Areakm²652,230 km²40th of 2409,388,210 km²2nd of 240
Urban Population25.9%223rd of 24066.3%116th of 240
GDP per Capita$417239th of 240$13,862110th of 240
GDP Growth+1.9%146th of 210+5.0%54th of 210
Life Expectancyyears66.3 years206th of 24078.0 years83rd of 240
Fertility Ratebirths per woman4.76 births per woman9th of 2401.01 births per woman230th of 240
Birth Rateper 1,00035.0 per 1,0009th of 2136.8 per 1,000202nd of 213
Death Rateper 1,0005.7 per 1,000168th of 2137.8 per 1,00087th of 213
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births48.3 per 1,000 live births13th of 1944.1 per 1,000 live births152nd of 194
Unemployment Rate13.4%21st of 1864.6%111th of 186
Inflation Rate-6.6%191st of 1910.1%176th of 191
Poverty Rate47.1%24th of 1640.0%164th of 164
Health Spendingof GDP15.0% of GDP4th of 1925.9% of GDP106th of 192
Physiciansper 1,0000.32 per 1,000162nd of 2063.11 per 1,00057th of 206
Hospital Bedsper 1,0000.35 per 1,000191st of 1995.63 per 1,00024th of 199
Literacy Rate37.3%170th of 17596.7%66th of 175
Education Spendingof GDP4.3% of GDP90th of 2023.9% of GDP112th of 202
School Enrollmentgross, secondary59.6% gross, secondary164th of 20792.3% gross, secondary97th of 207
Renewable Energyof final consumption20.0% of final consumption107th of 21115.2% of final consumption122nd of 211
Forest Coverageof land area1.9% of land area186th of 21124.0% of land area121st of 211
Internet Penetration16.1%200th of 21191.6%51st of 211
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people60.1 per 100 people194th of 212131.8 per 100 people54th of 212
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births521 per 100,000 live births7th of 19316 per 100,000 live births130th of 193
Military Spendingof GDP1.83% of GDP80th of 1631.71% of GDP83rd of 163
Protected Areasof land area3.6% of land area190th of 21115.6% of land area119th of 211
Median Ageyears17.3 years229th of 24040.1 years61st of 240
Mean Years of Schoolingyears5.7 years132nd of 1489.0 years87th of 148
Human Development Index0.496180th of 1920.79777th of 192
Happiness Index/ 101.45/ 10164th of 1646.07/ 1067th of 164
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita0.25 tonnes per capita193rd of 2128.66 tonnes per capita30th of 212
Obesity Rate18.8%129th of 1989.1%174th of 198

Not Comparable

Published for one country but not the other, so no comparison is shown.

  • Gini Index 36.0 for China, not published for Afghanistan

Population, 1950–2100

Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.

AfghanistanChina
0200M400M600M800M1B1.2B1.4B19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
Afghanistan and China population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
Afghanistan19507.78M
Afghanistan197512.8M
Afghanistan200020.1M
Afghanistan202543.8M
Afghanistan205076.9M
Afghanistan2075109.4M
Afghanistan2100130.2M
China1950544M
China1975916.1M
China20001.27B
China20251.42B
China20501.26B
China2075934.5M
China2100633.4M

Reading This Comparison

Size is not the same as rate

Totals and per-capita measures answer different questions. A country can have a far larger economy and a far lower GDP per capita at the same time — both facts are in the table.

Mind the vintages

Each value is the latest available for that country, which is not always the same year on both sides. For indicators that move slowly this rarely matters; for inflation or GDP growth it can.

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