China vs United States: Historical population data
Historical population data over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 1.42 billion Persons against 341.79 million Persons in United States, a difference of 1.07 billion Persons.
That makes China's figure about 4.1 times United States's.
Across all 76 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 4th of 43 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 597.80 million Persons | 164.74 million Persons | 433.06 million Persons | China |
| 1960s | 717.50 million Persons | 192.50 million Persons | 525.00 million Persons | China |
| 1970s | 902.94 million Persons | 215.03 million Persons | 687.92 million Persons | China |
| 1980s | 1.05 billion Persons | 236.96 million Persons | 818.02 million Persons | China |
| 1990s | 1.21 billion Persons | 264.54 million Persons | 947.31 million Persons | China |
| 2000s | 1.31 billion Persons | 294.37 million Persons | 1.01 billion Persons | China |
| 2010s | 1.39 billion Persons | 320.31 million Persons | 1.07 billion Persons | China |
| 2020s | 1.42 billion Persons | 336.04 million Persons | 1.09 billion Persons | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher historical population data, China or United States?
- China, at 1.42 billion Persons against 341.79 million Persons in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in historical population data between China and United States?
- 1.07 billion Persons, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for historical population data?
- China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 4th 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.