World Factbook
China
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
98.4% (2020 est.)
female
95.1% (2020 est.)
total population
96.7% (2020 est.)
Languages
Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages; note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uyghur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)
major-language sample(s)
世界概況 – 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Standard Chinese) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
folk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.1% (2021 est.)
note: officially atheist
Sex ratio
at birth
1.09 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.14 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.06 male(s)/female
total population
1.04 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.86 male(s)/female
Birth rate
7.28 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
7.97 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
39 years
total
40.8 years (2025 est.)
female
41.5 years
Population
male
716,908,592
total
1,407,181,209 (2025 est.)
female
690,272,617
Nationality
noun
Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective
Chinese
Tobacco use
male
46.6% (2025 est.)
total
24.5% (2025 est.)
female
1.9% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
note
note: data do not include Hong Kong and Macau
urban population
64.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
16.3% (male 122,644,111/female 107,926,176)
15-64 years
69.3% (male 505,412,555/female 476,599,793)
65 years and over
14.4% (2024 est.) (male 94,144,838/female 109,315,797)
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese 91.1%, ethnic minorities 8.9% (includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)
note: the PRC officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups
People - note
in October 2015, the Chinese Government announced that it would change its rules to allow all couples to have two children, loosening a 1979 mandate that restricted many couples to one child; the new policy was implemented on 1 January 2016 to address China’s rapidly aging population and future economic needs
Child marriage
men married by age 18
0.7% (2020)
women married by age 15
0.1% (2020)
women married by age 18
2.8% (2020)
Dependency ratios
note
note: data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
total dependency ratio
43.4 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
22.4 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
4.8 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
21 (2025 est.)
Physician density
3.11 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
5.4% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
8.8% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
5 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.2 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 96.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 97.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 3.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 2.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.6% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
11.9% national budget (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
6.7 deaths/1,000 live births
total
6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
5.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.08% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.57 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many Asian and European countries; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang
Life expectancy at birth
male
76 years
female
81.7 years
total population
78.7 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
16 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 95.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 4.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
4.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
29.211 million Shanghai, 21.766 million BEIJING (capital), 17.341 million Chongqing, 14.284 million Guangzhou, 14.239 million Tianjin, 13.073 million Shenzhen (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
6.2% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
69.5% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
2.4% (2013)