China vs Low & middle income: Urban population
Urban population over time
- China
- Low & middle income
How they compare
Low & middle income currently reports 3.61 billion against 933.17 million in China, a difference of 2.67 billion.
That makes Low & middle income's figure about 3.9 times China's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Low & middle income has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st 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 | 128.67 million | 545.92 million | 417.25 million | Low & middle income |
| 1970s | 158.32 million | 784.13 million | 625.82 million | Low & middle income |
| 1980s | 242.08 million | 1.16 billion | 914.84 million | Low & middle income |
| 1990s | 356.03 million | 1.62 billion | 1.26 billion | Low & middle income |
| 2000s | 551.55 million | 2.22 billion | 1.66 billion | Low & middle income |
| 2010s | 777.67 million | 2.92 billion | 2.15 billion | Low & middle income |
| 2020s | 919.59 million | 3.47 billion | 2.55 billion | Low & middle income |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher urban population, China or Low & middle income?
- Low & middle income, at 3.61 billion against 933.17 million in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in urban population between China and Low & middle income?
- 2.67 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 urban population?
- China ranks 1st and Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Urban population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.