United States vs China by population

Source	UN (World Population Prospects 2024)
Date	30 Oct 2026

China and the United States are the world's second- and third-most populous countries, respectively. In 2026, China's estimated population of 1.41 billion is approximately 4.05 times the US population of 349 million. Together, the two countries have a combined population of about 1.76 billion, accounting for approximately 21.23% of the world population.

China's population peaked in 2021, while the US population is projected to continue growing through 2100. China also has a higher population density, at 147 people per square kilometre, compared with 38 in the United States, making it approximately 3.87 times as densely populated.

The ratio of China’s population to that of the United States increased from 3.53 in 1950 to a peak of 4.56 in 1991. It is projected to decline to 1.50 by 2100, reflecting China’s faster population decline compared with the United States, where the population is projected to continue growing.

With a median age of 38.71 years, the United States is nearly 2 years younger than China, whose median age is 40.65 years. China overtook the United States in median age in 2019, while the United States ranked 58th globally and China ranked 79th in terms of median age.

Regarding life expectancy, China is catching up with the United States, with the gap narrowing to less than one year, compared with more than 24 years in 1950. In 2026, life expectancy is estimated at 79.76 years in the United States, which ranks 64th globally, and 79.02 years in China, which ranks 79th.

As of 2026, China's total fertility rate is projected at 1.03 births per woman, lower than the US rate of 1.62. In 1950, China's fertility rate was nearly twice that of the United States, but it fell below that of the United States in 1991.

The United States has a higher share of older people, with 18.84% of its population aged 65 and above, compared with 15.13% in China. The United States also has a larger population aged 100 and above.

Population projections

Year	Population			Growth (%)
Year	China	US	China/US	China	US
2024	1,419,321,278	345,426,571	4.11	-0.22	0.55
2025	1,416,096,094	347,275,807	4.08	-0.23	0.52
2026	1,412,914,089	349,035,494	4.05	-0.22	0.49
2027	1,409,679,406	350,728,355	4.02	-0.24	0.48
2028	1,406,136,744	352,404,085	3.99	-0.26	0.48
2029	1,402,282,752	354,050,268	3.96	-0.28	0.46
2030	1,398,153,832	355,649,881	3.93	-0.30	0.45
2035	1,373,427,531	363,284,716	3.78	-0.41	0.40
2040	1,342,816,657	370,209,316	3.63	-0.50	0.35
2045	1,306,113,788	376,106,472	3.47	-0.62	0.28
2050	1,260,289,093	380,846,910	3.31	-0.82	0.23
2055	1,202,342,471	384,894,297	3.12	-1.06	0.19
2060	1,135,127,191	388,918,394	2.92	-1.23	0.21
2065	1,065,632,529	393,352,609	2.71	-1.29	0.23
2070	998,784,319	398,218,088	2.51	-1.30	0.24
2075	934,466,660	402,910,163	2.32	-1.37	0.23
2080	870,252,344	407,079,816	2.14	-1.49	0.18
2085	806,115,054	410,829,985	1.96	-1.57	0.16
2090	744,902,836	414,457,640	1.80	-1.58	0.17
2095	687,724,085	418,115,528	1.64	-1.62	0.17
2100	633,368,113	421,278,889	1.50	-1.68	0.13

Population estimates

Year	Population			Growth (%)
Year	China	US	China/US	China	US
1950	544,044,358	154,202,680	3.53	1.78	1.47
1955	603,547,007	166,200,024	3.63	2.25	1.56
1960	654,802,069	180,274,555	3.63	-0.03	1.74
1965	723,415,733	195,653,774	3.70	2.66	1.39
1970	823,308,967	207,796,339	3.96	2.61	1.29
1975	916,116,793	219,129,301	4.18	1.61	0.93
1980	983,163,542	229,858,655	4.28	1.44	1.02
1985	1,059,807,820	241,690,443	4.38	1.56	0.96
1990	1,153,582,724	253,373,387	4.55	1.74	1.22
1995	1,220,133,927	268,205,795	4.55	0.91	1.00
2000	1,269,581,175	281,484,131	4.51	0.77	0.99
2005	1,310,027,136	295,716,664	4.43	0.63	1.00
2010	1,351,561,514	311,062,790	4.34	0.66	0.99
2015	1,396,134,174	326,126,497	4.28	0.53	0.92
2020	1,426,106,093	339,436,159	4.20	0.09	0.17
2021	1,426,437,267	340,161,441	4.19	-0.05	0.25
2022	1,425,179,569	341,534,046	4.17	-0.13	0.55
2023	1,422,584,933	343,477,335	4.14	-0.24	0.58

Demographics Indicators

Year	Life expectancy		Median age		Fertility rate		Birth		Death
Year	China	US	China	US	China	US	China	US	China	US
1950	43.83	68.07	22.25	28.96	5.81	3.09	22,293,375	3,697,926	12,564,024	1,479,687
1955	47.24	69.56	20.68	28.98	6.26	3.52	25,727,524	4,094,908	12,148,175	1,512,644
1960	33.42	69.83	19.91	28.26	4.45	3.73	19,310,830	4,370,880	19,506,188	1,663,922
1965	53.00	70.25	18.48	27.04	6.61	2.98	30,064,192	3,895,103	10,676,969	1,827,280
1970	56.82	70.73	18.03	26.74	6.09	2.52	31,461,750	3,894,161	9,817,575	1,960,713
1975	60.95	72.54	19.07	27.59	3.57	1.82	23,099,724	3,309,291	8,240,904	1,921,062
1980	64.24	73.73	20.89	29.12	2.74	1.86	21,674,421	3,745,108	7,507,117	2,004,240
1985	66.53	74.65	21.70	30.44	2.63	1.85	24,136,257	3,844,129	7,541,116	2,112,669
1990	68.16	75.37	23.73	31.90	2.51	2.07	28,079,115	4,172,065	7,975,059	2,178,344
1995	70.36	75.85	26.10	33.12	1.59	1.97	19,003,368	3,845,004	7,548,769	2,336,341
2000	72.29	76.81	28.96	34.29	1.63	2.03	17,551,191	3,956,650	7,780,052	2,423,915
2005	74.09	77.53	31.77	35.18	1.62	2.04	16,602,725	4,055,468	8,214,687	2,472,159
2010	75.67	78.67	34.14	35.92	1.69	1.92	17,912,367	3,978,953	8,788,797	2,502,224
2015	76.98	78.72	35.69	36.39	1.67	1.83	17,518,179	3,982,193	9,521,879	2,707,670
2020	78.02	77.01	37.49	37.23	1.24	1.62	11,843,469	3,641,990	10,411,385	3,384,290
2021	78.12	76.38	38.01	37.47	1.12	1.63	10,461,124	3,681,202	10,759,526	3,492,881
2022	78.20	77.98	38.53	37.72	1.03	1.67	9,455,320	3,750,379	10,998,729	3,187,302
2023	77.95	79.30	39.07	38.02	1.00	1.62	8,899,881	3,657,476	11,684,177	2,975,658
2024	78.02	79.46	39.59	38.29	1.01	1.62	8,822,056	3,654,449	11,678,348	3,046,569
2025	78.37	79.61	40.11	38.50	1.02	1.62	8,709,352	3,663,798	11,716,325	3,089,996
2026	79.02	79.76	40.65	38.71	1.03	1.63	8,625,232	3,673,260	11,482,043	3,136,202

Population pyramid
Age group share

Age Group

Age Group	Population			Share(%) of total
Age Group	China	US	China/US	China	US
00-04	45,053,929	18,639,064	2.42	3.19	5.34
05-09	73,635,395	19,401,644	3.80	5.21	5.56
10-14	90,474,553	20,964,017	4.32	6.40	6.01
15-19	85,917,946	22,672,643	3.79	6.08	6.50
20-24	78,557,363	23,525,034	3.34	5.56	6.74
25-29	81,549,875	22,818,023	3.57	5.77	6.54
30-34	92,677,027	23,511,929	3.94	6.56	6.74
35-39	121,981,256	24,341,982	5.01	8.63	6.97
40-44	105,473,091	23,318,350	4.52	7.46	6.68
45-49	92,465,202	21,926,070	4.22	6.54	6.28
50-54	109,221,765	20,187,829	5.41	7.73	5.78
55-59	118,448,579	20,763,712	5.70	8.38	5.95
60-64	103,680,632	21,208,474	4.89	7.34	6.08
65-69	65,828,081	20,338,095	3.24	4.66	5.83
70-74	67,079,098	17,021,722	3.94	4.75	4.88
75-79	42,385,014	13,150,584	3.22	3.00	3.77
80-84	22,338,448	8,267,915	2.70	1.58	2.37
85-89	11,311,572	4,395,645	2.57	0.80	1.26
90-94	4,098,001	1,956,213	2.09	0.29	0.56
95-99	684,548	549,503	1.25	0.05	0.16
100+	52,714	77,046	0.68	0.00	0.02
Total	1,412,914,089	349,035,494	4.05	100	100