Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in China instead of United Kingdom, you would:

Health

be 77.7% less likely to be obese

In United Kingdom, 27.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In China, that number is 6.2% of people as of 2016.

live 5.8 years less

In United Kingdom, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022. In China, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2020.

Economy

make 59.1% less money

United Kingdom has a GDP per capita of $54,100 as of 2023, while in China, the GDP per capita is $22,100 as of 2023.

be 15.0% more likely to be unemployed

In United Kingdom, 4.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In China, that number is 4.7% as of 2023.

Life

be 2.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In United Kingdom, approximately 10.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In China, 23.0 women do as of 2020.

be 77.0% more likely to die during infancy

In United Kingdom, approximately 3.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In China, on the other hand, 6.8 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 24.7% less likely to have internet access

In United Kingdom, approximately 97.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In China, about 73.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 34.5% less on education

United Kingdom spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. China spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 53.3% less on healthcare

United Kingdom spends 12.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In China, that number is 5.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 16.7% more coastline

United Kingdom has a total of 12,429 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

China: At a glance

China (sometimes abbreviated PRC) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 9,326,410 sq km. For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
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How big is China compared to United Kingdom? See an in-depth size comparison.

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