China (People’s Republic of) vs India: Historical population data
Historical population data over time
- China (People’s Republic of)
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 1.46 billion Persons against 1.42 billion Persons in China (People’s Republic of), a difference of 47.77 million Persons.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 43 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, China (People’s Republic of) averaged higher in 7 and India in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China (People’s Republic of) | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 597.80 million Persons | 384.33 million Persons | 213.47 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 1960s | 717.50 million Persons | 484.63 million Persons | 232.87 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 1970s | 902.94 million Persons | 605.98 million Persons | 296.96 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 1980s | 1.05 billion Persons | 764.93 million Persons | 290.06 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 1990s | 1.21 billion Persons | 951.12 million Persons | 260.73 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 2000s | 1.31 billion Persons | 1.14 billion Persons | 162.41 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 2010s | 1.39 billion Persons | 1.32 billion Persons | 71.66 million Persons | China (People’s Republic of) |
| 2020s | 1.42 billion Persons | 1.43 billion Persons | 9.90 million Persons | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher historical population data, China (People’s Republic of) or India?
- India, at 1.46 billion Persons against 1.42 billion Persons in China (People’s Republic of) as of 2025.
- What is the difference in historical population data between China (People’s Republic of) and India?
- 47.77 million Persons, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and India?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do China (People’s Republic of) and India rank globally for historical population data?
- China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 43 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Historical population data. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
This dataset presents annual population data from 1961 by sex and five year age groups as well as the share of children, youth, the elderly, old-age and total dependency ratios. The data is available for all member countries as well as for the EU27 and G20 countries, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and the World total. The data refer to mid-year estimates of the population. See country details in Historical population metadata.