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China

Population

1,411,907,825

Estimated as of Oct 28, 2026View source
Population rank
2nd
Share of world
17.02%
Annual change
−3,182,0050.22%

Population of China

400M600M800M1B1.2B1.4BPeak20261.4B2050 projection1.3B↓ 11% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

95% prediction interval

Current population estimate: 1,411,907,825. 2050 projection: 1,260,289,093.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for China. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
20261,412,914,0890.22%2
20251,416,096,0940.23%2
20201,426,106,0930.18%1
20191,423,520,3570.32%1
20181,419,008,9560.47%1
20171,412,354,7270.59%1
20151,396,134,1740.59%1
20101,351,561,5140.67%1
20051,310,027,1360.61%1
20001,269,581,1750.75%1

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Shanghai is home to 24,722,254 people, 1.75% of China's population.

City population20M10M4M
Shanghai 24.7MBeijing 21.6MShenzhen 20.6MGuangzhou 18.5MChengdu 15.8MTianjin 12.4MWuhan 11.7MDongguan 11.5MChongqing 10.9MXi'an 10.7M
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Shanghai24.7M1.75%
2Beijing21.6M1.53%
3Shenzhen20.6M1.46%
4Guangzhou18.5M1.31%
5Chengdu15.8M1.12%
6Tianjin12.4M0.87%
7Wuhan11.7M0.83%
8Dongguan11.5M0.81%
9Chongqing10.9M0.77%
10Xi'an10.7M0.76%

China by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 28, 2026

Population
China is home to an estimated 1,411,907,825 people, the 2nd largest population in the world.
Daily change
China has a net population change of approximately -8,456 people per day, driven by 23,615 births, 31,436 deaths, and net emigration of 635 people.
Share of world
China makes up 17.02% of the world's population and 28.23% of Asia's.
Density
149.9 people per km² of land (388.3 per mi²), ranking 88th among countries and territories.
Urban living
66.34% of people live in urban areas.

China Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 4,341100+ years, female: 48,37295–99 years, male: 138,21795–99 years, female: 546,32790–94 years, male: 1,220,95290–94 years, female: 2,877,04885–89 years, male: 4,219,70485–89 years, female: 7,091,86980–84 years, male: 9,334,66380–84 years, female: 13,003,78675–79 years, male: 18,687,83275–79 years, female: 23,697,18370–74 years, male: 30,704,34670–74 years, female: 36,374,75365–69 years, male: 31,394,26565–69 years, female: 34,433,81660–64 years, male: 50,867,52060–64 years, female: 52,813,11155–59 years, male: 59,033,50455–59 years, female: 59,415,07450–54 years, male: 55,143,34950–54 years, female: 54,078,41645–49 years, male: 47,164,34145–49 years, female: 45,300,86340–44 years, male: 54,302,38340–44 years, female: 51,170,70935–39 years, male: 63,689,18035–39 years, female: 58,292,07730–34 years, male: 49,167,85430–34 years, female: 43,509,17425–29 years, male: 43,779,31125–29 years, female: 37,770,56520–24 years, male: 42,415,49920–24 years, female: 36,141,86515–19 years, male: 46,340,09415–19 years, female: 39,577,85210–14 years, male: 48,503,55310–14 years, female: 41,970,9995–9 years, male: 39,075,7135–9 years, female: 34,559,6830–4 years, male: 23,622,1860–4 years, female: 21,431,742100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–420M20M40M40M

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

41.7 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

79 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

50.87%

Female

49.13%

Life expectancy 76.4Life expectancy 81.8

Ethnicity

91.1%

Han Chinese

  • Han Chinese91.1%
  • ethnic minorities8.9%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2021 est.

the Chinese government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups

ethnic minorities: includes Zhuang, Hui, Manchu, Uyghur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and Other nationalities

Religion

52.2%

unaffiliated, the largest reported group

  • unaffiliated52.2%
  • folk religion21.9%
  • Buddhist18.2%
  • Christian5.1%
  • Muslim1.8%
  • Other0.7%
  • Hindu0.1%
  • Jewish0.1%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2021 est.

Other: includes Daoist (Taoist)

Hindu: less than 0.1%

Jewish: less than 0.1%

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - China United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. China Population Information and Research Center
  5. National Bureau of Statistics of China