Antarctica vs China
Antarctica is 46% larger than China.
AntarcticaChinaAntarctica moved onto China · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.46×
Antarctica is 1.46× the area of China.
 Antarctica |  China | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAntarctica: 1.46× the area | 14,000,000 km² | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 16 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 319,678× the population | 4,4002009 | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityChina: 466,345× the density | 0.00 / km² | 147 / km²#62 of 194 |
| Urban population | — | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rate | — | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growth | — | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rate | — | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rate | — | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15 | — | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65 | — | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migration | — | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | — | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | — | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortality | — | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $19.5T2025 |
| Income group | — | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 |
| Unemployment | — | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agriculture | — | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industry | — | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in services | — | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptions | — | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | — | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | — | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy | — | 15.2%#121 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricity | — | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | — | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected land | — | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | — | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | — | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 |
| Precipitation | — | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | — | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption | — | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Governed under the Antarctic Treaty | Independent state |
| Government | — | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | — | Beijing |
| Currency | — | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) |
| Official languages | — | Standard Chinese |
| Traffic drives | — | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 · UTC−3 to UTC+12, 8 time zones | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | — | +86 |
| Region | Antarctica | Eastern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Antarctica sits at about 85° S and is stretched to 129× its true area; China at 37° N is stretched to 1.56×. That difference is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it is next to China. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Antarctica bigger than China?
- Yes. Antarctica is 46% larger than China. Antarctica covers 14,000,000 km² and China covers 9,596,961 km².
- How many times does China fit into Antarctica?
- About 1.5 times: Antarctica has 1.46× the area of China.
- Why do Antarctica and China look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Antarctica is drawn about 129× its true area there and China about 1.56×. That is why Antarctica looks so much bigger than it really is next to China. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Antarctica or China?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 4,400. Density: Antarctica 0.00 per km², China 147 per km².