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China
The world's most populous country and second-largest economy occupies a vast territory spanning deserts, plateaus, subtropical forests, and coastlines. Beijing is the political capital, while Shanghai is the financial powerhouse. China's economic transformation since the 1980s is history's greatest episode of poverty reduction, lifting over 800 million people out of extreme poverty.
Major cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen
2024
1.42B
UN
2050
1.26B
UN
2100
633.4M
UN
~2200
175.0M
GPU
~2500
39.0M
GPU
Population1.42B
Fertility (TFR)1.01
Life expectancy78.0
Median age39.1
Infant mortality4.5 per 1,000
Pop. density150/km²
Urbanization66%
Youth share (0-14)17%
Land area9,388,210 km²
LanguageStandard Chinese
ReligionUnaffiliated
HDI0.797 (#78)
RegionAsia
Latest available year is shown in parentheses where the source series varies across indicators. Governance metrics use World Bank percentile ranks; battle deaths and military spending are context variables, not direct fertility drivers.
UN WPP 2024 — verified data through 2100
| Year | Population | TFR | Life Exp. | CBR | CDR | Net Migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 544M | 5.81 | 43.8 | 41.0 | 23.1 | -21K | 1.8% |
| 1955 | 604M | 6.26 | 47.2 | 42.6 | 20.1 | -2K | 2.2% |
| 1960 | 655M | 4.45 | 33.4 | 29.5 | 29.8 | -17K | 0.0% |
| 1965 | 723M | 6.61 | 53.0 | 41.6 | 14.8 | -131K | 2.7% |
| 1970 | 823M | 6.08 | 56.8 | 38.2 | 11.9 | -127K | 2.6% |
| 1975 | 916M | 3.57 | 61.0 | 25.2 | 9.0 | -115K | 1.6% |
| 1980 | 983M | 2.74 | 64.2 | 22.0 | 7.6 | -20K | 1.4% |
| 1985 | 1.06B | 2.63 | 66.5 | 22.8 | 7.1 | -61K | 1.6% |
| 1990 | 1.15B | 2.51 | 68.2 | 24.3 | 6.9 | -11K | 1.7% |
| 1995 | 1.22B | 1.59 | 70.4 | 15.6 | 6.2 | -366K | 0.9% |
| 2000 | 1.27B | 1.63 | 72.3 | 13.8 | 6.1 | -63K | 0.8% |
| 2005 | 1.31B | 1.62 | 74.1 | 12.7 | 6.3 | -104K | 0.6% |
| 2010 | 1.35B | 1.69 | 75.7 | 13.3 | 6.5 | -184K | 0.7% |
| 2015 | 1.40B | 1.67 | 77.0 | 12.5 | 6.8 | -647K | 0.6% |
| 2020 | 1.43B | 1.24 | 78.0 | 8.3 | 7.3 | -92K | 0.1% |
| 2024Now | 1.42B | 1.01 | 78.0 | 6.2 | 8.2 | -319K | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 1.42B | 1.02 | 78.4 | 6.2 | 8.3 | -268K | -0.2% |
| 2030 | 1.40B | 1.06 | 79.8 | 6.0 | 8.9 | -199K | -0.3% |
| 2035 | 1.37B | 1.10 | 80.8 | 6.1 | 10.0 | -213K | -0.4% |
| 2040 | 1.34B | 1.13 | 81.7 | 6.5 | 11.3 | -206K | -0.5% |
| 2045 | 1.31B | 1.16 | 82.6 | 6.5 | 12.6 | -192K | -0.6% |
| 2050 | 1.26B | 1.18 | 83.4 | 5.8 | 13.9 | -171K | -0.8% |
| 2055 | 1.20B | 1.21 | 84.1 | 4.9 | 15.3 | -172K | -1.0% |
| 2060 | 1.14B | 1.23 | 84.9 | 4.4 | 16.6 | -174K | -1.2% |
| 2065 | 1.07B | 1.25 | 85.6 | 4.6 | 17.4 | -134K | -1.3% |
| 2070 | 999M | 1.27 | 86.3 | 5.0 | 17.9 | -121K | -1.3% |
| 2075 | 934M | 1.28 | 86.9 | 5.3 | 18.8 | -128K | -1.4% |
| 2080 | 870M | 1.29 | 87.5 | 5.2 | 19.9 | -117K | -1.5% |
| 2085 | 806M | 1.31 | 88.1 | 4.8 | 20.4 | -102K | -1.6% |
| 2090 | 745M | 1.32 | 88.7 | 4.6 | 20.3 | -87K | -1.6% |
| 2095 | 688M | 1.33 | 89.2 | 4.6 | 20.6 | -84K | -1.6% |
| 2100 | 633M | 1.35 | 89.8 | 4.9 | 21.6 | -78K | -1.7% |