China vs United States of America: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
China
233.26 million people
in 2020
United States of America
88.17 million people
in 2020
China rank
1st
United States of America rank
3rd
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- China
- United States of America
How they compare
China currently reports 233.26 million people against 88.17 million people in United States of America, a difference of 145.09 million people.
That makes China's figure about 2.6 times United States of America's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 3rd of 236 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 197.17 million people | 65.57 million people | 131.60 million people | China |
| 1960s | 212.34 million people | 70.97 million people | 141.38 million people | China |
| 1970s | 230.56 million people | 75.52 million people | 155.04 million people | China |
| 1980s | 243.32 million people | 79.54 million people | 163.78 million people | China |
| 1990s | 241.47 million people | 82.60 million people | 158.88 million people | China |
| 2000s | 233.12 million people | 84.56 million people | 148.56 million people | China |
| 2010s | 231.08 million people | 87.43 million people | 143.65 million people | China |
| 2020s | 233.26 million people | 88.17 million people | 145.09 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, China or United States of America?
- China, at 233.26 million people against 88.17 million people in United States of America as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between China and United States of America?
- 145.09 million people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do China and United States of America rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 3rd 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.