Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in China instead of Western Sahara, you would:

Health

live 11.6 years longer

In Western Sahara, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2020. In China, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2020.

Economy

make 8.8 times more money

Western Sahara has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2007, while in China, the GDP per capita is $22,100 as of 2023.

Life

be 85.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Western Sahara, approximately 47.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In China, on the other hand, 6.8 children do as of 2022.

have 63.6% fewer children

In Western Sahara, there are approximately 28.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In China, there are 10.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Geography

see 13.1 times more coastline

Western Sahara has a total of 1,110 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 Western Sahara? See an in-depth size comparison.

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