Compare
China vs South Africa
How China and South Africa compare on 38 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, China was higher: 78 years against 66.1 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, China was higher: $13,790 against $5,713
- Population · In 2023, China was higher: 1.42 billion people against 63.2 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, China was higher: 1.73% of GDP against 0.74% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, China was higher: 9.32 tonnes against 6.88 tonnes
Life expectancy →ChinaSouth AfricaUN projection (medium variant)95% prediction intervalWorld
years · UN · log scale
Every measure
ChinaSouth Africa
| Measure | China | South Africa | Over the years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | |||
| Life expectancyyears · 2023 | 78 | 66.1 | |
| Child mortalitydeaths before age 5 per 100 live births · 2024 | 0.6 | 3.5 | |
| Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births · 2023 | 5.1 | 27.9 | |
| Depression% of people · 2017 | 3.31 | 3.75 | |
| Suicide ratedeaths per 100,000 people · 2017 | 7.2 | 11.2 | |
| People | |||
| Populationpeople · 2023 | 1.42 billion | 63.2 million | |
| Population growth% a year · 2023 | -0.24 | 1.32 | |
| Fertility ratebirths per woman · 2023 | 1 | 2.22 | |
| Urban population% of people · 2025 | 66.3 | 63.8 | |
| Median ageyears · 2023 | 39.1 | 28.2 | |
| People aged 65 and over% of people · 2023 | 14.3 | 6.5 | |
| Net migration rateper 1,000 people · 2023 | -0.4 | 3.6 | |
| Economy | |||
| GDP per personUS dollars at 2015 prices · 2025 | $13,790 | $5,713 | |
| GDP growth% a year · 2025 | 5 | 1.1 | |
| Inflation% a year · 2025 | 0.1 | 3.2 | |
| Government debt% of GDP · 2025 | 98.6 | 762024 | |
| Education | |||
| Learning-adjusted schoolingyears · 2020 | 9.3 | 5.6 | |
| Adult literacy% of adults · 2024 | 96.72020 | 91.2 | |
| Girls in primary school% of girls of primary-school age · 2017 | 88.41997 | 86.7 | |
| Politics | |||
| Electoral democracyindex, 0 to 1 · 2025 | 0.07 | 0.74 | |
| Human rightsindex, 0 to 1 · 2025 | 0.18 | 0.86 | |
| Conflict | |||
| Deaths in conflictsdeaths a year · 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| Military | |||
| Military spending% of GDP · 2025 | 1.73 | 0.74 | |
| Military spending in US dollarsUS dollars at 2024 prices · 2025 | $335B | $3B | |
| Military spending per personUS dollars per person · 2025 | $237 | $49 | |
| Military share of state spending% of government spending · 2025 | 5.1 | 2.2 | |
| Armed forces personnelpeople · 2020 | 2.54 million | 89,000 | |
| National power% of world capability · 2022 | 23.41 | 0.55 | |
| Armed forces, share of workers% of the labour force · 2020 | 0.33 | 0.4 | |
| Arms importsSIPRI trend-indicator values · 2025 | 207 million | 30 million | |
| Arms exportsSIPRI trend-indicator values · 2025 | 880 million | 115 million | |
| Climate | |||
| Temperature°C · 2025 | 8.3 | 18.3 | |
| Days above 35 °Cdays a year · 2014 | 5.1 | 13.2 | |
| Tropical nightsnights a year · 2014 | 41.5 | 27.1 | |
| Technology and environment | |||
| CO₂ per persontonnes per person · 2024 | 9.32 | 6.88 | |
| Internet users% of people · 2025 | 91.6 | 78.42024 | |
| Access to electricity% of people · 2024 | 100 | 90.2 | |
| Forest area% of land · 2024 | 24 | 18.8 | |
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