China vs United Kingdom

China vs United Kingdom: GDP growth

GDP growth in 2025: 5% a year in China and 1.2% a year in United Kingdom, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 3.8 percentage points, or 4.12 times that in United Kingdom.

Watch it change on the map

% a year · IMF

China vs United Kingdom: GDP growthGDP growth in 2025: 5% a year in China and 1.2% a year in United Kingdom, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in China, by 3.8 percentage points, or 4.12 times that in United Kingdom.
ChinaUnited KingdomIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

  • China has been higher since 2023, when it overtook United Kingdom.
  • In 2025, China ranked 33 and United Kingdom ranked 117 of 143 countries, counting from the highest.
  • The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts China at 3.3% a year and United Kingdom at 1.4% a year in 2031.

Every year

% a year · IMF

YearChinaUnited Kingdom
202551.2
202451.1
20235.40.4
20223.15
20218.68.5
20202.3-10.1
20196.11.4
20186.81.6
20176.93.3
20166.82.2
201572.2
20147.53.2
20137.81.9
20127.81.7
20119.51.1
201010.62.4
20099.4-4.5
20089.60
200714.23
200612.72.2
200511.42.7
200410.12.3
200310.13.2
20029.21.7
20018.32.4
20008.64.5
19997.82.9
19987.93.3
19979.34.9
1996102.6
1995112.4
199413.13.4
199313.92.3
199214.30.3
199110.2-1.4
19903.90.6
19894.22.4
198811.25.4
198711.75.5
19868.93.1
198513.54.1
198415.22.2
198310.84.2
198292
19815.1-0.6
19807.9-2.1
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
YearChinaUnited Kingdom
20264.51.3
202741.2
202841.6
20293.71.5
20303.31.4
20313.31.4

Each country on its own

Good to know

  • How much the economy grew or shrank in a year, after inflation.
  • Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
  • The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
  • Ranks count the 143 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time

China vs United Kingdom

Health

People

Economy

Education

Politics

Conflict

Military

Climate

Technology and environment