Bhutan vs China
China is 250 times larger than Bhutan. Bhutan would fit into China about 250 times.
BhutanChinaBhutan moved onto China · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Bhutan is 0.0× the area of China. Put the other way, China is 250× the size of Bhutan.
 Bhutan |  China | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaChina: 250× the area | 38,394 km²#133 of 194 | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 16 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 1,766× the population | 796,682#162 of 194 · 2025 | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityChina: 7.06× the density | 21 / km²#164 of 194 | 147 / km²#62 of 194 |
| Urban populationChina: 1.53× the urban share | 43%#143 of 192 · 2025 | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBhutan: 1.44× the births per woman | 1.45 per woman#146 of 192 · 2024 | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBhutan: 0.82 points higher | +0.65%#116 of 192 · 2025 | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBhutan: 1.84× the birth rate | 12.5 per 1,000#108 of 192 · 2024 | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateChina: 1.28× the death rate | 6.1 per 1,000#137 of 192 · 2024 | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Bhutan: 5.0 points higher | 20.4%#114 of 192 · 2025 | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65China: 8.3 points higher | 6.6%#107 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBhutan: 0.8 per 1,000 higher | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBhutan: 82.8× the refugees for its size | 9.11 per 1,000#20 of 190 · 2025 | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyChina: 4.7 years longer | 73.3 years#102 of 192 · 2024 | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBhutan: 3.34× the infant mortality | 13.7 per 1,000 births#91 of 191 · 2024 | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsChina: 5.65× the doctors per person | 0.55 per 1,000#124 of 178 · 2022 | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentChina: 5.92× the university enrolment | 13.0%#126 of 145 · 2024 | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexChina: 0.099 higher | 0.698#124 of 190 · 2023 | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaChina: 3.3× the income per person | $4,310#123 of 185 · 2025 | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPChina: 5,448× the economy | $3.58B2025 | $19.5T2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)China: 1.5× the output per person | $19,594#96 of 184 · 2025 | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthBhutan: 3.0 points higher | +8.0%#11 of 187 · 2025 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBhutan: 3.5 points higher | +3.6%#71 of 176 · 2025 | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentChina: 1.44× the unemployment | 3.2%#133 of 178 · 2025 | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)China: 7.5 higher | 28.5#129 of 149 · 2022 | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureBhutan: 20.7 points higher | 42.4% of jobs#36 of 178 · 2025 | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryChina: 15.9 points higher | 15.9% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesChina: 4.7 points higher | 41.8% of jobs#142 of 178 · 2025 | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentChina: 0.2 points higher | 0.2% of GDP#156 of 184 · 2025 | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsBhutan: 10.4 points higher | 31.5% of GDP#97 of 168 · 2024 | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 91%#47 of 184 · 2024 | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsChina: 1.32× the mobile subscriptions | 100 per 100#127 of 191 · 2024 | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBhutan: 2.93× the forest share | 70% of land#15 of 192 · 2024 | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personChina: 4.64× the CO₂ per person | 2.01 t a year#103 of 185 · 2024 | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBhutan: 67.3 points higher | 82.5%#12 of 190 · 2022 | 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: 1.06× the air pollution | 30.1 µg/m³#49 of 191 · 2023 | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBhutan: 36.0 points higher | 51.6% of land#3 of 191 · 2025 | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landChina: 9.0 points higher | 2.6% of land#154 of 190 · 2024 | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressChina: 29.6× the water stress | 1.4%#157 of 176 · 2022 | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationBhutan: 3.41× the rain and snow | 2,200 mm#24 of 180 · 2022 | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBhutan: 1.37 higher | +1.39#7 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBhutan: 1.40 higher | +1.47#19 of 193 · 2025 | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateBhutan: 5.0× the homicide rate | 2.5 per 100,000#68 of 146 · 2020 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Thimphu | Beijing |
| Currency | Ngultrum (BTN) | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) |
| Official languages | Dzongkha | Standard Chinese |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+6 | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +975 | +86 |
| Region | Southern Asia, Asia | 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. Bhutan sits at about 27° N and is stretched to 1.27× 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 Bhutan bigger than China?
- No. Bhutan is 250 times smaller than China. Bhutan covers 38,394 km² and China covers 9,596,961 km².
- How many times does Bhutan fit into China?
- About 250 times: China has 250× the area of Bhutan.
- Why do Bhutan and China look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bhutan is drawn about 1.27× 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, Bhutan or China?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 796,682. Density: Bhutan 21 per km², China 147 per km².
- Which is richer, Bhutan or China?
- By gross national income per person, China: $14,230 against $4,310 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.3× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Bhutan or China?
- In China: life expectancy at birth is 78.0 years, against 73.3 — 4.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Bhutan and China have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Bhutan: constitutional monarchy; China: one-party state.