Statizoid

Population in China

China: Population was 1.42 billion people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
1.42 billion people
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
2nd
of 238 countries
All-time high
1.43 billion people
in 2021
All-time low
36.59 million people
in 1000
Years of data
241
1000–2023

Population in China, 1000–2023

0500.0M1.0B1.5B100015112023

Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

China recorded 1.42 billion people for population in 2023.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population in China peaked at 1.43 billion people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 36.59 million people, in 1000.

China ranks 2nd of 238 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 36.59 million people 36.59 million people 36.59 million people 1
1100s 90.18 million people 90.18 million people 90.18 million people 1
1200s 103.06 million people 103.06 million people 103.06 million people 1
1300s 79.97 million people 79.97 million people 79.97 million people 1
1400s 71.25 million people 71.25 million people 71.25 million people 1
1500s 91.26 million people 91.26 million people 91.26 million people 1
1600s 98.05 million people 98.05 million people 98.05 million people 1
1700s 99.43 million people 99.43 million people 99.43 million people 1
1710s 104.05 million people 104.05 million people 104.05 million people 1
1720s 119.50 million people 119.50 million people 119.50 million people 1
1730s 127.05 million people 127.05 million people 127.05 million people 1
1740s 142.98 million people 142.98 million people 142.98 million people 1
1750s 178.33 million people 178.33 million people 178.33 million people 1
1760s 197.05 million people 197.05 million people 197.05 million people 1
1770s 220.13 million people 220.13 million people 220.13 million people 1
1780s 275.68 million people 275.68 million people 275.68 million people 1
1790s 298.73 million people 298.73 million people 298.73 million people 1
1800s 337.01 million people 330.00 million people 344.11 million people 10
1810s 361.46 million people 346.79 million people 377.15 million people 10
1820s 393.32 million people 380.43 million people 405.61 million people 10
1830s 410.14 million people 407.45 million people 411.64 million people 10
1840s 411.90 million people 411.27 million people 412.00 million people 10
1850s 395.39 million people 379.95 million people 409.82 million people 10
1860s 367.43 million people 359.00 million people 377.07 million people 10
1870s 360.85 million people 357.98 million people 364.79 million people 10
1880s 370.70 million people 365.79 million people 375.84 million people 10
1890s 385.36 million people 377.26 million people 393.91 million people 10
1900s 405.63 million people 395.93 million people 415.91 million people 10
1910s 438.78 million people 419.06 million people 459.66 million people 10
1920s 472.62 million people 463.33 million people 480.67 million people 10
1930s 495.30 million people 482.83 million people 508.42 million people 10
1940s 523.96 million people 511.30 million people 537.92 million people 10
1950s 597.80 million people 544.04 million people 652.71 million people 10
1960s 717.50 million people 654.80 million people 802.14 million people 10
1970s 902.94 million people 823.31 million people 969.29 million people 10
1980s 1.05 billion people 983.16 million people 1.13 billion people 10
1990s 1.21 billion people 1.15 billion people 1.26 billion people 10
2000s 1.31 billion people 1.27 billion people 1.34 billion people 10
2010s 1.39 billion people 1.35 billion people 1.42 billion people 10
2020s 1.43 billion people 1.42 billion people 1.43 billion people 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 India 1.44 billion people compare
  2. 3 United States 343.48 million people compare
  3. 4 Indonesia 281.19 million people compare
  4. 5 Pakistan 247.50 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is population in China?
Population in China was 1.42 billion people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 1.43 billion people in 2021.
What is the lowest population recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 36.59 million people in 1000.
How does China rank for population?
China ranks 2nd out of 238 countries with data for 2023.
Is population rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 241 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.