China vs United States
United States and China are almost exactly the same size.
ChinaUnited StatesChina moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.98×
China is 0.98× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 1.02× the size of China.
 China |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 9,596,961 km²#4 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 16 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationChina: 4.12× the population | 1,406,585,000#2 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityChina: 4.21× the density | 147 / km²#62 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 1.21× the urban share | 66%#84 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 1.61× the births per woman | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthUnited States: 0.69 points higher | −0.17%#169 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateUnited States: 1.56× the birth rate | 6.8 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.15× the death rate | 7.8 per 1,000#76 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15United States: 1.7 points higher | 15.4%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 3.5 points higher | 14.9%#55 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 3.8 per 1,000 higher | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadChina: 11× the refugees for its size | 0.11 per 1,000#116 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited States: 0.9 years longer | 78.0 years#53 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 1.34× the infant mortality | 4.1 per 1,000 births#150 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 1.18× the doctors per person | 3.11 per 1,000#56 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 1.03× the university enrolment | 76.9%#33 of 145 · 2024 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.141 higher | 0.797#77 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 6.24× the income per person | $14,230#65 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 1.58× the economy | $19.5T2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 3.07× the output per person | $29,333#69 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthChina: 2.8 points higher | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationUnited States: 2.8 points higher | +0.1%#161 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentChina: 1.1× the unemployment | 4.6%#102 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2022 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 5.8 higher | 36.0#63 of 149 · 2022 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureChina: 20.2 points higher | 21.7% of jobs#81 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryChina: 12.9 points higher | 31.8% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 33.1 points higher | 46.5% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited States: 0.6 points higher | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsChina: 10.1 points higher | 21.1% of GDP#132 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 1.81× the military spending | 1.7% of GDP#77 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 1.03× the share online | 92%#46 of 184 · 2025 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsChina: 1.17× the mobile subscriptions | 132 per 100#49 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 1.41× the forest share | 24% of land#112 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 1.46× the CO₂ per person | 9.32 t a year#19 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyChina: 4.3 points higher | 15.2%#121 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)China: 4.57× the air pollution | 32.0 µg/m³#43 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landChina: 2.7 points higher | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 5.0 points higher | 11.6% of land#86 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressChina: 1.47× the water stress | 41.5%#43 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationUnited States: 1.11× the rain and snow | 645 mm#122 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityChina: 0.32 higher | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 0.80 higher | +0.07#79 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 11.6× the homicide rate | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2020 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statecommunist party-led state | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | G20, BRICS | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Beijing | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (renminbi) (CNY) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Standard Chinese | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+8 · UTC+6 to UTC+8, 2 time zones | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +86 | +1 |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia | Northern America, North America |
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. China sits at about 37° N and is stretched to 1.56× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. 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 China bigger than United States?
- No. China and United States are almost exactly the same size. China covers 9,596,961 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does China fit into United States?
- About 1.0 times: United States has 1.02× the area of China.
- Why do China and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. China is drawn about 1.56× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. 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, China or United States?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 341,784,857. Density: China 147 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, China or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $14,230 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 6.24× as much.
- Where do people live longer, China or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 78.0 — 0.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do China and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — China: one-party state; United States: presidential republic.