China vs United States: Urban population
Urban population over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 933.17 million against 274.08 million in United States, a difference of 659.09 million.
That makes China's figure about 3.4 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was China ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 215 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 6 and United States in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 128.67 million | 138.53 million | 9.85 million | United States |
| 1970s | 158.32 million | 158.28 million | 37,600 | China |
| 1980s | 242.08 million | 176.08 million | 66.00 million | China |
| 1990s | 356.03 million | 203.80 million | 152.24 million | China |
| 2000s | 551.55 million | 235.56 million | 315.99 million | China |
| 2010s | 777.67 million | 257.91 million | 519.75 million | China |
| 2020s | 919.59 million | 269.07 million | 650.51 million | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher urban population, China or United States?
- China, at 933.17 million against 274.08 million in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in urban population between China and United States?
- 659.09 million, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for urban population?
- China ranks 1st and United States 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.