China at its true size
China covers 9,596,961 km², number 4 of 194 countries by area. Home to 1,406,585,000 people (2025). A Mercator map draws it about 1.56× too large.
Equal-area projection · Natural Earth 50m
| Area | 9,596,961 km² Wikidata |
|---|---|
| Population | 1,406,585,000 World Bank, 2025 |
| Density | 147 per km² |
| Capital | Beijing |
| Local time in Beijing | |
| Time zone | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones IANA |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) Wikidata |
| Languages | Standard Chinese |
| Traffic | On the right |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia |
| Status | Independent state |
| Member of | G20BRICS |
| Coast | Has a coastline |
| Calling code | +86 |
| Codes | CN · CHN · 156 |
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Where China ranks
Among the independent states, in 44 rankings. Each links to its table.
People
- Population#2 of 1941.41 billion people#2 of 48 in Asia
- Population density#62 of 194147 people per km²#21 of 48 in Asia
- Urban population#84 of 19266% urban#22 of 47 in Asia
- Fertility rate#188 of 1921.01 births per woman#45 of 47 in Asia
- Population growth#169 of 192−0.17% a year#43 of 47 in Asia
- Birth rate#184 of 1926.8 births per 1,000 people#45 of 47 in Asia
- Death rate#76 of 1927.8 deaths per 1,000 people#7 of 47 in Asia
- Children under 15#158 of 19215.4% under 15#42 of 47 in Asia
- People over 65#55 of 19214.9% aged 65 and over#5 of 47 in Asia
- Net migration#84 of 192−0.2 per 1,000 people#26 of 47 in Asia
- Refugees abroad#116 of 1900.11 refugees abroad per 1,000 people#31 of 47 in Asia
Health & education
- Life expectancy#53 of 19278.0 years#14 of 47 in Asia
- Infant mortality#150 of 1914.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births#41 of 47 in Asia
- Doctors#56 of 1783.11 doctors per 1,000 people#9 of 46 in Asia
- University enrolment#33 of 14576.9% gross enrolment#7 of 42 in Asia
- Human Development Index#77 of 190an index of 0.797#20 of 46 in Asia
Economy
- GNI per capita#65 of 185$14,230 a person#14 of 45 in Asia
- Internet users#46 of 18492% online#14 of 43 in Asia
- GDP per capita (PPP)#69 of 184$29,333 a person#17 of 45 in Asia
- GDP growth#45 of 187+5.0% a year#17 of 45 in Asia
- Inflation#161 of 176+0.1% a year#36 of 42 in Asia
- Unemployment#102 of 1784.6% of the labour force#19 of 47 in Asia
- Extreme poverty#136 of 1490.0% under $3.00 a day#25 of 33 in Asia
- Income inequality (Gini)#63 of 149a Gini index of 36.0#8 of 33 in Asia
- Jobs in agriculture#81 of 17821.7% of jobs#24 of 47 in Asia
- Jobs in industry#13 of 17831.8% of jobs#6 of 47 in Asia
- Jobs in services#132 of 17846.5% of jobs#35 of 47 in Asia
- Foreign investment#150 of 1840.4% of GDP#36 of 44 in Asia
- Exports#132 of 16821.1% of GDP#33 of 42 in Asia
- Military spending#77 of 1551.7% of GDP#25 of 38 in Asia
- Mobile subscriptions#49 of 191132 subscriptions per 100 people#19 of 47 in Asia
Energy & environment
- CO₂ per person#19 of 1859.32 tonnes a person#12 of 47 in Asia
- Forest area#112 of 19224% forest#20 of 47 in Asia
- Renewable energy#121 of 19015.2% renewable#19 of 47 in Asia
- Access to electricity#1 of 192100.0% with electricity#1 of 47 in Asia
- Air pollution (PM2.5)#43 of 19132.0 µg/m³#21 of 47 in Asia
- Protected land#111 of 19115.6% of the land protected#24 of 47 in Asia
- Arable land#86 of 19011.6% of the land arable#20 of 47 in Asia
- Water stress#43 of 17641.5% of its available fresh water#26 of 47 in Asia
- Precipitation#122 of 180645 mm a year#24 of 47 in Asia
Governance & safety
Countries of a similar size
Every country within 25% of China’s area, lit up on the map →
- United States0.98×China and United States are almost exactly the same size.
- Canada0.96×China is 4% smaller than Canada.
- Brazil1.13×China is 13% larger than Brazil.
- Australia1.25×China is 25% larger than Australia.
- Russia0.56×China is 44% smaller than Russia.
- India2.92×China is 2.92 times larger than India.
The land itself
Rivers, summits and lakes China shares with the rest of the world. Turn on “Rivers & lakes” and “Physical names” in the atlas to see them on the map.
Rivers
- Yangtze6,300 km
- Yellow River5,464 km
- Mekong4,350 km
- Irtysh4,248 km
- Indus3,180 km
- Brahmaputra2,900 km
Summits
- Mount Everest8,849 m
- Namcha Barwa7,782 m
- Mount Gongga7,556 m
- Jengish Chokusu7,439 m
- Gyala Peri7,294 m
Lakes
- Poyang Hu5,100 km²
- Qinghai Hu4,400 km²
- Lake Khanka4,190 km²
- Hulun Nuur2,399 km²
Rivers are listed by the published length of their whole course, not the part inside China. Figures from Wikidata, features from Natural Earth.
Neighbours
- Russiacompare 0.56×
- Indiacompare 2.92×
- Kazakhstancompare 3.52×
- Mongoliacompare 6.14×
- Pakistancompare 10.9×
- Myanmarcompare 14.2×
- Afghanistancompare 14.7×
- Vietnamcompare 28.9×
- Laoscompare 40.5×
- Kyrgyzstancompare 48.0×
- Nepalcompare 65.2×
- Tajikistancompare 67.1×
- North Koreacompare 79.6×
- Bhutancompare 250×
- Hong Kongcompare 3,483×
- Macaocompare 83,452×
Questions about China
- How big is China?
- China covers 9,596,961 km², which makes it number 4 of 194 countries by area. About 1,406,585,000 people live there (2025), 147 per km².
- Is China bigger than United States?
- China and United States are almost exactly the same size. China: 9,596,961 km²; United States: 9,826,675 km².
- How much does the Mercator map distort China?
- At about 37° latitude, Mercator stretches China to roughly 1.56× its true area relative to a country on the equator. Kartavera draws it in the Equal Earth projection, where areas are exact.
- Which countries border China?
- China shares a land border with Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, North Korea, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Macao.