China vs Low & middle income: Population, total

China
1.41 billion
in 2025
Low & middle income
6.79 billion
in 2025
China rank
2nd
Low & middle income rank
3rd

Population, total over time

  • China
  • Low & middle income
02.0B4.0B6.0B196019922025

How they compare

Low & middle income currently reports 6.79 billion against 1.41 billion in China, a difference of 5.39 billion.

That makes Low & middle income's figure about 4.8 times China's.

Across all 66 years both countries report, Low & middle income has been ahead every year.

China ranks 2nd and Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 215 countries.

Low & middle income has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade China Low & middle income Difference Ahead
1960s 714.95 million 2.34 billion 1.62 billion Low & middle income
1970s 901.94 million 2.97 billion 2.07 billion Low & middle income
1980s 1.05 billion 3.67 billion 2.63 billion Low & middle income
1990s 1.20 billion 4.47 billion 3.28 billion Low & middle income
2000s 1.30 billion 5.25 billion 3.95 billion Low & middle income
2010s 1.37 billion 6.03 billion 4.66 billion Low & middle income
2020s 1.41 billion 6.62 billion 5.21 billion Low & middle income

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population, total, China or Low & middle income?
Low & middle income, at 6.79 billion against 1.41 billion in China as of 2025.
What is the difference in population, total between China and Low & middle income?
5.39 billion, with Low & middle income ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Low & middle income?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do China and Low & middle income rank globally for population, total?
China ranks 2nd and Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 215 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Population, total. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Population, total
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.