Population, total in China
China: Population, total was 1.41 billion in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population, total in China, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for population, total in China is 1.41 billion, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population, total in China peaked at 1.41 billion in 2021 and was at its lowest, 660.33 million, in 1961.
That places China 2nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 714.95 million | 660.33 million | 796.02 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 901.94 million | 818.32 million | 969.00 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.05 billion | 981.24 million | 1.12 billion | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.20 billion | 1.14 billion | 1.25 billion | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.30 billion | 1.26 billion | 1.33 billion | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.37 billion | 1.34 billion | 1.41 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.41 billion | 1.41 billion | 1.41 billion | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 6.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.2% (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Urban population 933.17 million (2025)
- Urban population 66.3% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.09 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population 31.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population, total in China?
- Population, total in China was 1.41 billion in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population, total recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 1.41 billion in 2021.
- What is the lowest population, total recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 660.33 million in 1961.
- How does China rank for population, total?
- China ranks 2nd out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population, total rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.