China (People’s Republic of) vs Middle income: Rural population
Rural population over time
- China (People’s Republic of)
- Middle income
How they compare
Middle income currently reports 2.69 billion against 473.41 million in China (People’s Republic of), a difference of 2.21 billion.
That makes Middle income's figure about 5.7 times China (People’s Republic of)'s.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Middle income has been ahead every year.
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd and Middle income ranks 4th of 217 countries.
Middle income has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China (People’s Republic of) | Middle income | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 586.28 million | 1.66 billion | 1.08 billion | Middle income |
| 1970s | 743.63 million | 2.02 billion | 1.28 billion | Middle income |
| 1980s | 804.53 million | 2.32 billion | 1.52 billion | Middle income |
| 1990s | 840.80 million | 2.61 billion | 1.77 billion | Middle income |
| 2000s | 747.24 million | 2.71 billion | 1.97 billion | Middle income |
| 2010s | 596.97 million | 2.71 billion | 2.11 billion | Middle income |
| 2020s | 490.73 million | 2.68 billion | 2.19 billion | Middle income |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, China (People’s Republic of) or Middle income?
- Middle income, at 2.69 billion against 473.41 million in China (People’s Republic of) as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between China (People’s Republic of) and Middle income?
- 2.21 billion, with Middle income ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and Middle income?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do China (People’s Republic of) and Middle income rank globally for rural population?
- China (People’s Republic of) ranks 2nd and Middle income ranks 4th 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.