China vs Low & middle income: Rural population
Rural population over time
- China
- Low & middle income
How they compare
Low & middle income currently reports 3.18 billion against 473.41 million in China, a difference of 2.71 billion.
That makes Low & middle income's figure about 6.7 times China's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Low & middle income has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 217 countries.
Low & middle income has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Low & middle income | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 586.28 million | 1.79 billion | 1.20 billion | Low & middle income |
| 1970s | 743.63 million | 2.18 billion | 1.44 billion | Low & middle income |
| 1980s | 804.53 million | 2.52 billion | 1.71 billion | Low & middle income |
| 1990s | 840.80 million | 2.86 billion | 2.02 billion | Low & middle income |
| 2000s | 747.24 million | 3.03 billion | 2.29 billion | Low & middle income |
| 2010s | 596.97 million | 3.11 billion | 2.51 billion | Low & middle income |
| 2020s | 490.73 million | 3.16 billion | 2.67 billion | Low & middle income |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, China or Low & middle income?
- Low & middle income, at 3.18 billion against 473.41 million in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between China and Low & middle income?
- 2.71 billion, with Low & middle income ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Low & middle income?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do China and Low & middle income rank globally for rural population?
- China ranks 2nd and Low & middle income ranks 3rd of 217 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.