China vs United States: Has the population peaked?

China
1.42 billion people
in 2023
United States
343.48 million people
in 2023
China rank
2nd
United States rank
3rd

Has the population peaked? over time

  • China
  • United States
0500.0M1.0B1.5B195019862023

How they compare

China currently reports 1.42 billion people against 343.48 million people in United States, a difference of 1.08 billion people.

That makes China's figure about 4.1 times United States's.

Across all 74 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.

China ranks 2nd and United States 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 Difference Ahead
1950s 597.80 million people 165.22 million people 432.58 million people China
1960s 717.50 million people 193.61 million people 523.89 million people China
1970s 902.94 million people 217.97 million people 684.98 million people China
1980s 1.05 billion people 240.39 million people 814.60 million people China
1990s 1.21 billion people 266.50 million people 945.35 million people China
2000s 1.31 billion people 294.48 million people 1.01 billion people China
2010s 1.39 billion people 324.59 million people 1.07 billion people China
2020s 1.43 billion people 341.15 million people 1.08 billion people China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher has the population peaked?, China or United States?
China, at 1.42 billion people against 343.48 million people in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in has the population peaked? between China and United States?
1.08 billion people, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do China and United States rank globally for has the population peaked??
China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 3rd of 236 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Has the population peaked?. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Has the population peaked?
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown.