Compare
Afghanistan vs China
How Afghanistan and China compare on 38 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, China was higher: 78 years against 66 years
- GDP per person · In 2024, China was higher: $13,120 against $374
- Population · In 2023, China was higher: 1.42 billion people against 41.5 million people
- Military spending · In 2021, Afghanistan was higher: 1.83% of GDP against 1.57% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, China was higher: 9.32 tonnes against 0.28 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyAfghanistan: 66 years in 2023China: 78 years in 2023
- Child mortalityAfghanistan: 5.3 per 100 live births in 2024China: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityAfghanistan: 44 per 1,000 live births in 2023China: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionAfghanistan: 4.14% in 2017China: 3.31% in 2017
- Suicide rateAfghanistan: 9.2 per 100,000 people in 2017China: 7.2 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationAfghanistan: 41.5 million people in 2023China: 1.42 billion people in 2023
- Population growthAfghanistan: 2.85% a year in 2023China: -0.24% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateAfghanistan: 4.84 births per woman in 2023China: 1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationAfghanistan: 25.9% in 2025China: 66.3% in 2025
- Median ageAfghanistan: 16.9 years in 2023China: 39.1 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overAfghanistan: 2.4% in 2023China: 14.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateAfghanistan: -1.2 per 1,000 people in 2023China: -0.4 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingAfghanistan: 1.83% of GDP in 2021China: 1.73% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsAfghanistan: $8.55M in 1977China: $335B in 2025
- Military spending per personAfghanistan: $7 in 2021China: $237 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingAfghanistan: 5% of government spending in 2020China: 5.1% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelAfghanistan: 165,000 people in 2020China: 2.54 million people in 2020
- National powerAfghanistan: 0.29% of world capability in 2022China: 23.41% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersAfghanistan: 1.82% of the labour force in 2020China: 0.33% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsAfghanistan: 65 million TIV in 2021China: 207 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsAfghanistan: 1 million TIV in 1992China: 880 million TIV in 2025
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, IHME, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time