China vs India: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
China
233.26 million people
in 2020
India
232.95 million people
in 2020
China rank
1st
India rank
2nd
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 233.26 million people against 232.95 million people in India, a difference of 304,000 people.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was China ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, China averaged higher in 6 and India in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 197.17 million people | 175.23 million people | 21.94 million people | China |
| 1960s | 212.34 million people | 193.87 million people | 18.47 million people | China |
| 1970s | 230.56 million people | 210.65 million people | 19.91 million people | China |
| 1980s | 243.32 million people | 229.43 million people | 13.89 million people | China |
| 1990s | 241.47 million people | 236.90 million people | 4.58 million people | China |
| 2000s | 233.12 million people | 238.50 million people | 5.38 million people | India |
| 2010s | 231.08 million people | 241.92 million people | 10.84 million people | India |
| 2020s | 233.26 million people | 232.95 million people | 304,000 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, China or India?
- China, at 233.26 million people against 232.95 million people in India as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between China and India?
- 304,000 people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do China and India rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd 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.