Brazil vs China
China is 13% larger than Brazil.
BrazilChinaBrazil moved onto China · Equal-area projection
0.89×
Brazil is 0.89× the area of China. Put the other way, China is 1.13× the size of Brazil.
 Brazil |  China | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaChina: 1.13× the area | 8,515,767 km²#5 of 194 | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 10 | 16 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 6.61× the population | 212,812,405#7 of 194 · 2025 | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityChina: 5.86× the density | 25 / km²#160 of 194 | 147 / km²#62 of 194 |
| Urban populationBrazil: 1.33× the urban share | 88%#25 of 192 · 2025 | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBrazil: 1.59× the births per woman | 1.61 per woman#123 of 192 · 2024 | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBrazil: 0.55 points higher | +0.38%#140 of 192 · 2025 | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBrazil: 1.78× the birth rate | 12.1 per 1,000#111 of 192 · 2024 | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateChina: 1.1× the death rate | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Brazil: 4.0 points higher | 19.4%#118 of 192 · 2025 | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65China: 3.4 points higher | 11.5%#74 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationChina: 0.8 per 1,000 higher | −1.0 per 1,000#118 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadChina: 3.67× the refugees for its size | 0.03 per 1,000#138 of 190 · 2025 | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyChina: 2.0 years longer | 76.0 years#78 of 192 · 2024 | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBrazil: 3.0× the infant mortality | 12.3 per 1,000 births#97 of 191 · 2024 | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsChina: 1.32× the doctors per person | 2.36 per 1,000#76 of 178 · 2023 | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentChina: 1.1× the university enrolment | 69.7%#46 of 145 · 2024 | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexChina: 0.011 higher | 0.786#83 of 190 · 2023 | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaChina: 1.35× the income per person | $10,550#79 of 185 · 2025 | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPChina: 8.55× the economy | $2.28T2025 | $19.5T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)China: 1.25× the output per person | $23,433#81 of 184 · 2025 | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthChina: 2.7 points higher | +2.3%#124 of 187 · 2025 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBrazil: 4.9 points higher | +5.0%#42 of 176 · 2025 | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentBrazil: 1.3× the unemployment | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 3.0%#64 of 149 · 2024 | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Brazil: 14.3 higher | 50.3#8 of 149 · 2024 | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureChina: 14.1 points higher | 7.6% of jobs#119 of 178 · 2025 | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryChina: 11.6 points higher | 20.2% of jobs#75 of 178 · 2025 | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBrazil: 25.7 points higher | 72.2% of jobs#43 of 178 · 2025 | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentBrazil: 3.0 points higher | 3.4% of GDP#58 of 184 · 2025 | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsChina: 3.3 points higher | 17.8% of GDP#140 of 168 · 2025 | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingChina: 1.64× the military spending | 1.1% of GDP#110 of 155 · 2025 | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersChina: 1.08× the share online | 85%#80 of 184 · 2024 | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsChina: 1.29× the mobile subscriptions | 102 per 100#125 of 191 · 2024 | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBrazil: 2.44× the forest share | 59% of land#29 of 192 · 2024 | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personChina: 4.02× the CO₂ per person | 2.32 t a year#97 of 185 · 2024 | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBrazil: 31.3 points higher | 46.5%#53 of 190 · 2021 | 15.2%#121 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityChina: 0.2 points higher | 99.8%#103 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)China: 2.39× the air pollution | 13.4 µg/m³#132 of 191 · 2023 | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBrazil: 15.0 points higher | 30.6% of land#32 of 191 · 2025 | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landChina: 4.9 points higher | 6.7% of land#117 of 190 · 2024 | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressChina: 27.7× the water stress | 1.5%#154 of 176 · 2022 | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationBrazil: 2.73× the rain and snow | 1,761 mm#42 of 180 · 2022 | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityChina: 0.40 higher | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionChina: 0.45 higher | −0.38#109 of 193 · 2025 | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateBrazil: 38.6× the homicide rate | 19.3 per 100,000#17 of 146 · 2023 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republicfederal presidential republic | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | G20, BRICS | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Brasilia | Beijing |
| Currency | Brazilian real (BRL) | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) |
| Official languages | Portuguese, Brazilian Sign Language | Standard Chinese |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−3 · UTC−5 to UTC−2, 4 time zones | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +55 | +86 |
| Region | South America | 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. Brazil sits at about 11° S and is stretched to 1.04× its true area; China at 37° N is stretched to 1.56×. That difference is why China looks so much bigger than it is next to Brazil. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Brazil bigger than China?
- No. Brazil is 11% smaller than China. Brazil covers 8,515,767 km² and China covers 9,596,961 km².
- How many times does Brazil fit into China?
- About 1.1 times: China has 1.13× the area of Brazil.
- Why do Brazil and China look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Brazil is drawn about 1.04× its true area there and China about 1.56×. That is why China looks so much bigger than it really is next to Brazil. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Brazil or China?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 212,812,405. Density: Brazil 25 per km², China 147 per km².
- Which is richer, Brazil or China?
- By gross national income per person, China: $14,230 against $10,550 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.35× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Brazil or China?
- In China: life expectancy at birth is 78.0 years, against 76.0 — 2.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Brazil and China have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Brazil: presidential republic; China: one-party state.