China vs India: Rural population
China
473.41 million
in 2025
India
941.42 million
in 2025
China rank
2nd
India rank
1st
Rural population over time
- China
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 941.42 million against 473.41 million in China, a difference of 468.01 million.
That makes India's figure about 2.0 times China's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was China ahead.
China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and India in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 586.28 million | 394.34 million | 191.94 million | China |
| 1970s | 743.63 million | 476.23 million | 267.39 million | China |
| 1980s | 804.53 million | 577.11 million | 227.42 million | China |
| 1990s | 840.80 million | 698.96 million | 141.84 million | China |
| 2000s | 747.24 million | 811.68 million | 64.44 million | India |
| 2010s | 596.97 million | 891.24 million | 294.27 million | India |
| 2020s | 490.73 million | 932.31 million | 441.58 million | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, China or India?
- India, at 941.42 million against 473.41 million in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between China and India?
- 468.01 million, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for rural population?
- China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Rural population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.