Australia vs China
China is 25% larger than Australia.
AustraliaChinaAustralia moved onto China · Equal-area projection
0.8×
Australia is 0.8× the area of China. Put the other way, China is 1.25× the size of Australia.
 Australia |  China | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaChina: 1.25× the area | 7,692,024 km²#6 of 194 | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 16 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 50.9× the population | 27,614,411#55 of 194 · 2025 | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityChina: 40.8× the density | 3.6 / km²#193 of 194 | 147 / km²#62 of 194 |
| Urban populationAustralia: 1.32× the urban share | 88%#27 of 192 · 2025 | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAustralia: 1.47× the births per woman | 1.48 per woman#138 of 192 · 2024 | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthAustralia: 1.70 points higher | +1.53%#66 of 192 · 2025 | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAustralia: 1.57× the birth rate | 10.7 per 1,000#130 of 192 · 2024 | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateChina: 1.13× the death rate | 6.9 per 1,000#110 of 192 · 2024 | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Australia: 2.3 points higher | 17.7%#133 of 192 · 2025 | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Australia: 3.2 points higher | 18.1%#41 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationAustralia: 5.2 per 1,000 higher | +5.0 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyAustralia: 5.1 years longer | 83.1 years#16 of 192 · 2024 | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityChina: 1.32× the infant mortality | 3.1 per 1,000 births#164 of 191 · 2024 | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsAustralia: 1.32× the doctors per person | 4.09 per 1,000#29 of 178 · 2022 | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentAustralia: 1.41× the university enrolment | 108.4%#6 of 145 · 2024 | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexAustralia: 0.161 higher | 0.958#7 of 190 · 2023 | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaAustralia: 4.51× the income per person | $64,120#11 of 185 · 2025 | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPChina: 10.8× the economy | $1.8T2025 | $19.5T2025 |
| Income group | High income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Australia: 2.45× the output per person | $71,934#22 of 184 · 2025 | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthChina: 3.6 points higher | +1.4%#145 of 187 · 2025 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationAustralia: 2.8 points higher | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2025 | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentChina: 1.12× the unemployment | 4.1%#112 of 178 · 2025 | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.9%#88 of 149 · 2020 | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)China: 2.2 higher | 33.8#83 of 149 · 2020 | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureChina: 19.5 points higher | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryChina: 12.5 points higher | 19.3% of jobs#85 of 178 · 2025 | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesAustralia: 32.0 points higher | 78.5% of jobs#18 of 178 · 2025 | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentAustralia: 1.7 points higher | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsAustralia: 2.1 points higher | 23.2% of GDP#120 of 168 · 2025 | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingAustralia: 1.12× the military spending | 1.9% of GDP#68 of 155 · 2025 | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAustralia: 1.05× the share online | 96%#19 of 184 · 2024 | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsChina: 1.17× the mobile subscriptions | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaChina: 1.38× the forest share | 17% of land#127 of 192 · 2024 | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAustralia: 1.51× the CO₂ per person | 14.1 t a year#10 of 185 · 2024 | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyChina: 2.9 points higher | 12.3%#129 of 190 · 2021 | 15.2%#121 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)China: 5.0× the air pollution | 6.4 µg/m³#177 of 191 · 2023 | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landAustralia: 6.4 points higher | 22.0% of land#71 of 191 · 2025 | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landChina: 7.5 points higher | 4.1% of land#138 of 190 · 2024 | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressChina: 8.83× the water stress | 4.7%#123 of 176 · 2022 | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationChina: 1.21× the rain and snow | 534 mm#140 of 180 · 2022 | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityAustralia: 0.76 higher | +0.78#52 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionAustralia: 1.77 higher | +1.84#10 of 193 · 2025 | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateAustralia: 1.8× the homicide rate | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2023 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | OECD, G20 | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Canberra | Beijing |
| Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) |
| Official languages | English, Australian English, Auslan | Standard Chinese |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+10, summer time UTC+11 · UTC+8 to UTC+10:30, 5 time zones | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +61 | +86 |
| Region | Australia and New Zealand, Oceania | 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. Australia sits at about 26° S and is stretched to 1.23× its true area; China at 37° N is stretched to 1.56×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Australia bigger than China?
- No. Australia is 20% smaller than China. Australia covers 7,692,024 km² and China covers 9,596,961 km².
- How many times does Australia fit into China?
- About 1.2 times: China has 1.25× the area of Australia.
- Why do Australia and China look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Australia is drawn about 1.23× its true area there and China about 1.56×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Australia or China?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 27,614,411. Density: Australia 3.6 per km², China 147 per km².
- Which is richer, Australia or China?
- By gross national income per person, Australia: $64,120 against $14,230 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 4.51× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Australia or China?
- In Australia: life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years, against 78.0 — 5.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Australia and China have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Australia: constitutional monarchy; China: one-party state.