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🇨🇳 China vs 🇯🇵 Japan

China has 1.28B more people — 1,406,585,000 against 123,366,734. Below, 35 indicators both countries publish, side by side.

🇨🇳 China
1,406,585,000
Asia · rank #2 · −0.17%
World Bank, 2025
🇯🇵 Japan
123,366,734
Asia · rank #12 · −0.49%
World Bank, 2025

Every Shared Indicator

35 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.
IndicatorChinaJapan
Population1,406,585,0002nd of 240123,366,73412th of 240
Annual Growth Rate−0.17%208th of 240−0.49%218th of 240
Population Density/km²150/km²82nd of 240342/km²39th of 240
Land Areakm²9,388,210 km²2nd of 240364,569 km²62nd of 240
Urban Population66.3%116th of 24092.3%30th of 240
GDP per Capita$13,862110th of 240$35,95155th of 240
GDP Growth+5.0%54th of 210+1.2%164th of 210
Life Expectancyyears78.0 years83rd of 24084.0 years10th of 240
Fertility Ratebirths per woman1.01 births per woman230th of 2401.15 births per woman223rd of 240
Birth Rateper 1,0006.8 per 1,000202nd of 2135.7 per 1,000207th of 213
Death Rateper 1,0007.8 per 1,00087th of 21313.3 per 1,0009th of 213
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births4.1 per 1,000 live births152nd of 1941.8 per 1,000 live births190th of 194
Unemployment Rate4.6%111th of 1862.5%163rd of 186
Inflation Rate0.1%176th of 1913.2%93rd of 191
Poverty Rate0.0%164th of 16415.7%118th of 164
Gini Index36.078th of 17032.3118th of 170
Health Spendingof GDP5.9% of GDP106th of 19210.7% of GDP20th of 192
Physiciansper 1,0003.11 per 1,00057th of 2062.65 per 1,00072nd of 206
Hospital Bedsper 1,0005.63 per 1,00024th of 19912.59 per 1,0006th of 199
Literacy Rate96.7%66th of 17599.0%29th of 175
Education Spendingof GDP3.9% of GDP112th of 2023.3% of GDP135th of 202
School Enrollmentgross, secondary92.3% gross, secondary97th of 207101.5% gross, secondary56th of 207
Renewable Energyof final consumption15.2% of final consumption122nd of 2118.8% of final consumption153rd of 211
Forest Coverageof land area24.0% of land area121st of 21168.4% of land area19th of 211
Internet Penetration91.6%51st of 21185.5%84th of 211
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people131.8 per 100 people54th of 212178.4 per 100 people12th of 212
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births16 per 100,000 live births130th of 1933 per 100,000 live births181st of 193
Military Spendingof GDP1.71% of GDP83rd of 1631.37% of GDP97th of 163
Protected Areasof land area15.6% of land area119th of 21129.7% of land area38th of 211
Median Ageyears40.1 years61st of 24049.8 years5th of 240
Mean Years of Schoolingyears9.0 years87th of 14812.8 years13th of 148
Human Development Index0.79777th of 1920.92523rd of 192
Happiness Index/ 106.07/ 1067th of 1646.13/ 1063rd of 164
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita8.66 tonnes per capita30th of 2127.77 tonnes per capita36th of 212
Obesity Rate9.1%174th of 1985.2%191st of 198

Population, 1950–2100

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

ChinaJapan
0200M400M600M800M1B1.2B1.4B19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
China and Japan population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
China1950544M
China1975916.1M
China20001.27B
China20251.42B
China20501.26B
China2075934.5M
China2100633.4M
Japan195086.4M
Japan1975113.3M
Japan2000127M
Japan2025123.1M
Japan2050105.1M
Japan207587.4M
Japan210076.8M

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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