China

Eastern Asia · Capital: Peking

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Population now

1,414,890,716

As of 2026, the population of China is approximately 1,414,890,716 (live estimate), growing at -0.15% per year with a birth rate of 6.4 and a death rate of 7.9 per 1,000 people. The population is 51.2% male and 48.8% female, at a density of 147.8 people per km².

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Births today—

Deaths today—

Net increase today—

Growth rate / yr—

Key indicators

Birth rate: 6.4 /1,000/yr
Death rate: 7.9 /1,000/yr
Literacy: 97.2%
Smoking: 25.6%
Density: 147.8 /km²
Life expectancy: 71.4 yrs

Male —

Female —

What's trending

Simulated feed. Connect a trends API to replace it.

Demographic profile

China is the 2nd most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 16.96% of everyone alive. Within Eastern Asia, it ranks 1 of 8.

Each day brings roughly 24,792 births and 30,603 deaths — a net decline of about 2,122,424 people a year. At -0.15% annually, the population would halve in roughly 467 years if the trend held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.

Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Tibet, holding an estimated 19.9% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 30 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.

Literacy stands near 97.2% and adult smoking prevalence around 25.6%, with life expectancy at about 71.4 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.

Quick answers

What is the population of China in 2026? Approximately 1,414,890,716 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).

How fast is China shrinking? About -0.15% per year — roughly 24,792 births and 30,603 deaths every day.

What share of the world lives in China? Around 16.96% — ranked 2 worldwide by population.

Population history & projection

Breakdown by states / regions

Regional figures are modelled estimates: real region names, populations allocated from the national total. Sudan carries curated state data.

State / region	Population	Male %	Birth rate	Death rate	Education %	Smoking %
Tibet	281,229,847	50.2%	5.9	8.7	96.9%	25.5%
Anhui	156,022,026	51.9%	7.1	8.6	96.4%	30.3%
Jilin	110,537,170	51.1%	6.2	8.6	92.4%	20.7%
Hong Kong SAR	86,558,638	51.8%	7.0	8.2	99.5%	20.3%
Shanxi	71,603,937	51.1%	6.3	8.2	96.3%	27.6%
Zhejiang	61,324,335	50.2%	5.8	8.4	99.5%	25.8%
Guizhou	53,793,286	50.6%	6.6	8.5	96.2%	27.0%
Shaanxi	48,021,411	50.1%	5.8	7.0	99.5%	30.1%
Inner Mongolia	43,446,548	52.4%	7.1	7.1	99.5%	25.6%
Yunnan	39,724,771	52.4%	6.5	7.1	94.6%	30.5%
Shandong	36,633,433	50.6%	7.1	8.6	90.5%	30.9%
Macau SAR	34,021,805	50.6%	5.8	8.1	90.4%	26.8%
Guangxi	31,784,073	51.1%	6.3	8.2	90.3%	27.1%
Jiangsu	29,843,694	50.9%	6.7	7.9	99.5%	27.3%
Liaoning	28,143,871	50.0%	6.1	8.2	91.8%	27.8%
Hubei	26,641,546	51.9%	6.7	7.6	91.3%	24.8%
Xinjiang	25,303,455	51.1%	5.9	7.9	96.3%	19.8%
Hainan	24,103,481	51.5%	7.2	7.1	90.2%	26.6%
Jiangxi	23,020,823	50.5%	6.5	7.4	99.5%	31.7%
Ningxia	22,038,697	51.3%	6.5	8.2	99.5%	31.3%
Taiwan	21,143,408	50.2%	6.0	7.5	97.2%	23.8%
Guangdong	20,323,669	51.7%	6.5	7.2	96.9%	23.1%
Fujian	19,570,086	51.9%	6.1	8.7	99.5%	31.0%
Qinghai	18,874,778	50.4%	6.1	8.5	91.7%	25.7%
Gansu	18,231,080	50.1%	5.9	7.7	90.2%	30.4%
Sichuan	17,633,319	51.7%	6.5	8.2	99.5%	19.9%
Heilongjiang	17,076,631	51.2%	5.9	8.0	99.5%	20.1%
Hunan	16,556,825	51.3%	7.0	8.5	95.8%	21.3%
Hebei	16,070,267	52.2%	5.8	8.4	92.9%	19.5%
Henan	15,613,790	52.0%	5.7	7.7	93.2%	26.3%

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