Compare
Canada vs China
How Canada and China compare on 37 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Canada was higher: 82.6 years against 78 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Canada was higher: $45,420 against $13,790
- Population · In 2023, China was higher: 1.42 billion people against 39.3 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, China was higher: 1.73% of GDP against 1.63% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Canada was higher: 14.01 tonnes against 9.32 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyCanada: 82.6 years in 2023China: 78 years in 2023
- Child mortalityCanada: 0.5 per 100 live births in 2024China: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityCanada: 4.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023China: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionCanada: 3.99% in 2017China: 3.31% in 2017
- Suicide rateCanada: 10.9 per 100,000 people in 2017China: 7.2 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationCanada: 39.3 million people in 2023China: 1.42 billion people in 2023
- Population growthCanada: 1.22% a year in 2023China: -0.24% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateCanada: 1.35 births per woman in 2023China: 1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationCanada: 82.9% in 2025China: 66.3% in 2025
- Median ageCanada: 40.3 years in 2023China: 39.1 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overCanada: 19.4% in 2023China: 14.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateCanada: 11 per 1,000 people in 2023China: -0.4 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingCanada: 1.63% of GDP in 2025China: 1.73% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsCanada: $37.5B in 2025China: $335B in 2025
- Military spending per personCanada: $939 in 2025China: $237 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingCanada: 3.7% of government spending in 2025China: 5.1% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelCanada: 72,000 people in 2020China: 2.54 million people in 2020
- National powerCanada: 0.81% of world capability in 2022China: 23.41% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersCanada: 0.35% of the labour force in 2020China: 0.33% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsCanada: 83 million TIV in 2025China: 207 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsCanada: 312 million TIV in 2025China: 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, 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