China's population, total was 1.41 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.94% from 1.38 billion in 2015 (0.19% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 1.41 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 1.41 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.38 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 1.41 billion | 2021 |
| Lowest | 660.33 million | 1961 |
| Average since 2016 | 1.41 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 667.07 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, China's population, total fell 0.2% on 2024 (from 1.41 billion to 1.41 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.6% and a typical year strayed about 0.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.8% in 1966 and the biggest yearly fall was 1% in 1961. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.9 million a year. A straight line explains 52% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, China had the 2nd highest value of the 217 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1.41 billion | 2025 |
| World | 8.22 billion | 2025 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 2.39 billion | 2025 |
| Upper middle income | 3.08 billion | 2025 |
Closest to China in the 2025 ranking
- India — 1st of 217: 1.46 billion
- United States — 3rd of 217: 341.79 million
- Indonesia — 4th of 217: 285.72 million
- Pakistan — 5th of 217: 255.22 million
What this measures
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.
Limitations: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 66 values
| Year | Population, total |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,406,585,000 |
| 2024 | 1,408,975,000 |
| 2023 | 1,410,710,000 |
| 2022 | 1,412,175,000 |
| 2021 | 1,412,360,000 |
| 2020 | 1,411,100,000 |
| 2019 | 1,407,745,000 |
| 2018 | 1,402,760,000 |
| 2017 | 1,396,215,000 |
| 2016 | 1,387,790,000 |
| 2015 |
Population, total in nearby economies
- American Samoa — 46,029 (2025)
- Australia — 27.61 million (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 466,330 (2025)
- Cambodia — 17.85 million (2025)
- Fiji — 933,154 (2025)
- French Polynesia — 282,465 (2025)
- Guam — 168,999 (2025)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 7.5 million (2025)
- Indonesia — 285.72 million (2025)
- Japan — 123.37 million (2025)
- Kiribati — 136,488 (2025)
- Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 26.57 million (2025)
More health data for China
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 3.25% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 3.46% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 101.3 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 14.67% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 115.41 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 16.12% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 216.72 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 15.41% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.41% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is China's population, total?
- 1.41 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 110.86% from 667.07 million in 1960 (1.15% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.41 billion in 2021 and the lowest 660.33 million in 1961.
- How does China rank?
- 2nd highest of 217 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in population, total unusual for China?
- In 2025, China's population, total fell 0.2% on 2024 (from 1.41 billion to 1.41 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.6% and a typical year strayed about 0.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.POP.TOTL, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Sta… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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