Brazil vs China: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Brazil
43.30 million people
in 2020
China
233.26 million people
in 2020
Brazil rank
4th
China rank
1st
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Brazil
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 233.26 million people against 43.30 million people in Brazil, a difference of 189.96 million people.
That makes China's figure about 5.4 times Brazil's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
Brazil ranks 4th and China ranks 1st of 236 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 25.64 million people | 197.17 million people | 171.53 million people | China |
| 1960s | 29.51 million people | 212.34 million people | 182.83 million people | China |
| 1970s | 32.74 million people | 230.56 million people | 197.82 million people | China |
| 1980s | 35.44 million people | 243.32 million people | 207.88 million people | China |
| 1990s | 38.71 million people | 241.47 million people | 202.76 million people | China |
| 2000s | 40.95 million people | 233.12 million people | 192.17 million people | China |
| 2010s | 42.29 million people | 231.08 million people | 188.79 million people | China |
| 2020s | 43.30 million people | 233.26 million people | 189.96 million people | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Brazil or China?
- China, at 233.26 million people against 43.30 million people in Brazil as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Brazil and China?
- 189.96 million people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Brazil and China rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Brazil ranks 4th and China ranks 1st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.