China
Quick notes before you compare the numbers.
Identity
Formal name: People's Republic of China.
CIA 2026
Curated stat
China's population began shrinking in 2022, its first annual decline in about six decades.
Matchup file
China vs Japan
119 shared metrics.
Turn the comparison into a round
Think you can spot the next winner?
China leads by 13 metrics. Use the same instinct in a quick real-data brawl.
Country briefing
What matters for both sides
Short real-world notes so the comparison reads like more than a stat strip.
Japan
Quick notes before you compare the numbers.
Identity
Name origin: the English word for Japan comes from the Chinese name for the country, Cipangu.
CIA 2026
Curated stat
Japan's long slowdown after its asset bubble is famous as the Lost Decade era.
Analysis
China leads in 66 of 119 shared metrics, while Japan leads in 53.
China's GDP Growth Rate is 46.7x that of Japan (5.0% vs 0.10%).
China's Irrigated Land is 42.9x that of Japan (690.1K km² vs 15.7K km²).
China's Land Area is 24.8x that of Japan (9.39M km² vs 364.6K km²).
China's Total CO2 Emissions is 12.5x that of Japan (13.1K Mt CO2e vs 972.27 Mt CO2e).
China's Shipping Traffic is 10.9x that of Japan (268.99M vs 22.52M).
Key Comparisons
GDP Growth RateChina leads
China
5.0%
Japan
0.10%
Irrigated LandChina leads
China
690.1K km²
Japan
15.7K km²
Land AreaChina leads
China
9.39M km²
Japan
364.6K km²
Total CO2 EmissionsChina leads
China
13.1K Mt CO2e
Japan
972.27 Mt CO2e
Shipping TrafficChina leads
China
268.99M
Japan
22.52M
PopulationChina leads
China
1.41B
Japan
123.20M
All Metrics
GDP Growth Rate
ChinaChina
5.0%
Japan
0.10%
4672% higher
Irrigated Land
ChinaChina
690.1K km²
Japan
15.7K km²
4287% higher
Land Area
ChinaChina
9.39M km²
Japan
364.6K km²
2475% higher
Total CO2 Emissions
ChinaChina
13.1K Mt CO2e
Japan
972.27 Mt CO2e
1250% higher
Shipping Traffic
ChinaChina
268.99M
Japan
22.52M
1095% higher
Population
ChinaChina
1.41B
Japan
123.20M
1042% higher
Political Corruption Index
ChinaChina
0.55
Japan
0.05
1008% higher
Electricity Generation
ChinaChina
10.1K TWh
Japan
1.0K TWh
885% higher
Armed Forces Personnel
ChinaChina
2.54M
Japan
261.0K
871% higher
Forest Area
ChinaChina
2.26M km²
Japan
249.3K km²
805% higher
Scientific Publications
ChinaChina
898.9K
Japan
103.7K
767% higher
Wind Electricity Share
ChinaChina
10.73%
Japan
1.3%
758% higher
Electric Generating Capacity
ChinaChina
2.95B kW
Japan
361.62M kW
716% higher
Tourist Arrivals
ChinaChina
30.40M
Japan
4.12M
639% higher
Capital Elevation
ChinaChina
43 m
Japan
6.0 m
617% higher
Water Withdrawal
ChinaChina
568.48 B m³
Japan
79.7 B m³
613% higher
Road Traffic Death Rate
ChinaChina
17.4 per 100k
Japan
2.7 per 100k
544% higher
Domestic Patents
ChinaChina
1.43M
Japan
222.5K
541% higher
Railway Length
ChinaChina
150.0K km
Japan
27.3K km
449% higher
Air Passengers
ChinaChina
619.22M
Japan
120.31M
415% higher
GDP (Nominal)
ChinaChina
$18,743,803,170,827.2
Japan
$4,027,597,523,550.58
365% higher
Agricultural Land (%)
ChinaChina
55.43%
Japan
12.64%
339% higher
Youth Unemployment Rate
ChinaChina
15.79% of youth labor force
Japan
3.9% of youth labor force
305% higher
Teen Birth Rate
ChinaChina
5.2 per 1k
Japan
1.7 per 1k
201% higher
Air Pollution (PM2.5)
ChinaChina
34.81 µg/m³
Japan
12.84 µg/m³
171% higher
Child Mortality
ChinaChina
6.2 per 1k births
Japan
2.4 per 1k births
158% higher
Infant Mortality
ChinaChina
4.5 per 1k births
Japan
1.8 per 1k births
150% higher
Foreign Patents
ChinaChina
159.0K
Japan
66.7K
138% higher
Highest Elevation
ChinaChina
8.8K m
Japan
3.8K m
134% higher
Spirits Consumption
ChinaChina
2.5 L/person/yr
Japan
1.1 L/person/yr
131% higher
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
ChinaChina
60 sites
Japan
26 sites
131% higher
Homicide Rate
ChinaChina
0.50 per 100k
Japan
0.23 per 100k
119% higher
Airports
ChinaChina
571
Japan
279
105% higher
Nobel Laureates Born per Million People
JapanChina
0.01 per 1M people
Japan
0.24 per 1M people
97% lower
Liberal Democracy Index
JapanChina
0.04
Japan
0.73
95% lower
Freedom of Expression Index
JapanChina
0.04
Japan
0.85
95% lower
Inflation Rate
JapanChina
0.20%
Japan
2.7%
93% lower
Electoral Democracy Index
JapanChina
0.07
Japan
0.82
91% lower
McDonald's Outlets per Million People
JapanChina
1.6 per 1M people
Japan
17.38 per 1M people
91% lower
Health Spending Per Capita
JapanChina
$672.45
Japan
$3,889.36
83% lower
Unemployment Rate
ChinaChina
4.6%
Japan
2.6%
78% higher
Government Debt (% GDP)
JapanChina
47% of GDP
Japan
215.9% of GDP
78% lower
FDI Inflows (% GDP)
JapanChina
0.10% of GDP
Japan
0.43% of GDP
77% lower
Food Waste per Person
ChinaChina
141.64 kg/person/yr
Japan
80.57 kg/person/yr
76% higher
EV Chargers per 100,000 People
JapanChina
0.22 per 100k people
Japan
0.85 per 100k people
74% lower
Renewable Energy (%)
ChinaChina
15.2%
Japan
8.8%
73% higher
Nurses & Midwives
JapanChina
3.5 per 1k
Japan
12.45 per 1k
72% lower
Coal Electricity Share
ChinaChina
54.35%
Japan
32.05%
70% higher
Women in Parliament (%)
ChinaChina
26.54%
Japan
15.7%
69% higher
Researchers
JapanChina
1.8K per 1M
Japan
5.6K per 1M
67% lower
Vehicles per 1,000 People
JapanChina
212.35 per 1k people
Japan
642.15 per 1k people
67% lower
Obesity Rate
ChinaChina
8.2%
Japan
4.9%
66% higher
Forest Coverage (%)
JapanChina
24.03%
Japan
68.4%
65% lower
GNI Per Capita
JapanChina
$13,660
Japan
$36,000
62% lower
Hospital Beds (per 1,000)
JapanChina
5.0 per 1k
Japan
12.7 per 1k
61% lower
Merchant Fleet Size
ChinaChina
8.3K
Japan
5.2K
59% higher
Population Density
JapanChina
150.26 /km²
Japan
341.54 /km²
56% lower
Milk Consumption per Person
JapanChina
32.66 kg/person/yr
Japan
72.06 kg/person/yr
55% lower
Health Spending (% GDP)
JapanChina
5.4% of GDP
Japan
11.42% of GDP
53% lower
Coastline Length
JapanChina
14.5K km
Japan
29.8K km
51% lower
Elderly Population (%)
JapanChina
14.67%
Japan
29.78%
51% lower
Minimum Paid Vacation Days
JapanChina
5.0 days/yr
Japan
10 days/yr
50% lower
High-Tech Exports (%)
ChinaChina
26.28%
Japan
17.55%
50% higher
Suicide Rate
JapanChina
8.9 per 100k
Japan
17.43 per 100k
49% lower
GDP Per Capita (PPP)
JapanChina
$27,104.87
Japan
$51,685.04
48% lower
Protected Land (%)
JapanChina
15.6%
Japan
29.5%
47% lower
Insufficient Physical Activity
JapanChina
23.84% of adults
Japan
44.75% of adults
47% lower
Youth Population (%)
ChinaChina
16.01%
Japan
11.44%
40% higher
Corruption Perceptions Index
JapanChina
43 pts
Japan
71 pts
39% lower
Renewable Energy (%)
ChinaChina
17.47%
Japan
12.7%
38% higher
Dependency Ratio
JapanChina
44.24% of working-age pop.
Japan
70.12% of working-age pop.
37% lower
ATMs per 100,000 Adults
JapanChina
72.03 per 100k
Japan
109.61 per 100k
34% lower
Death Rate
JapanChina
8.0 per 1k
Japan
12.04 per 1k
34% lower
Credit Card Ownership
JapanChina
46.03% of adults
Japan
69.66% of adults
34% lower
Time Zones Count
ChinaChina
4.0 time zones
Japan
3.0 time zones
33% higher
Tobacco Use Prevalence
ChinaChina
22.7% of adults
Japan
17.1% of adults
33% higher
Women's Political Empowerment
JapanChina
0.59
Japan
0.84
30% lower
Urban Population (%)
JapanChina
65.89%
Japan
92.19%
29% lower
Alcohol Consumption
JapanChina
4.6 L/adult/yr
Japan
6.4 L/adult/yr
28% lower
Imports (% GDP)
JapanChina
17.18% of GDP
Japan
23.64% of GDP
27% lower
Average Weekly Work Hours
ChinaChina
46.1 hrs/week
Japan
36.6 hrs/week
26% higher
Mobile Subscriptions (%)
JapanChina
132 per 100 people
Japan
178.43 per 100 people
26% lower
R&D Spending (% GDP)
JapanChina
2.6% of GDP
Japan
3.4% of GDP
25% lower
Military Spending
ChinaChina
1.7% of GDP
Japan
1.4% of GDP
25% higher
Meat Consumption per Person
ChinaChina
60.6 kg/person/yr
Japan
49.33 kg/person/yr
23% higher
Current Account Balance (% of GDP)
JapanChina
3.7% of GDP
Japan
4.8% of GDP
23% lower
Smoking Rate
ChinaChina
23.4%
Japan
19.2%
22% higher
Big Mac Price
ChinaChina
$3.66
Japan
$3.03
21% higher
Median Age
JapanChina
39.1 years
Japan
49.0 years
20% lower
Education Spending (% GDP)
ChinaChina
4.0% of GDP
Japan
3.3% of GDP
20% higher
University Enrollment Rate
ChinaChina
76.88%
Japan
64.89%
18% higher
Doctors (per 1,000)
ChinaChina
3.1 per 1k
Japan
2.6 per 1k
17% higher
Hypertension Prevalence
JapanChina
27.3% of adults
Japan
32% of adults
15% lower
Broadband Access (%)
ChinaChina
45 per 100 people
Japan
39 per 100 people
15% higher
Fertility Rate
JapanChina
1.2 children/woman
Japan
1.4 children/woman
15% lower
Electricity Use (Per Capita)
JapanChina
6.5K kWh/person
Japan
7.7K kWh/person
15% lower
Human Development Index
JapanChina
0.80
Japan
0.93
14% lower
Seafood Consumption per Person
JapanChina
40.33 kg/person/yr
Japan
46.65 kg/person/yr
14% lower
Solar Electricity Share
ChinaChina
11.1%
Japan
9.8%
13% higher
Exports (% GDP)
JapanChina
20.02% of GDP
Japan
22.77% of GDP
12% lower
Nuclear Electricity Share
JapanChina
4.9%
Japan
5.5%
11% lower
Inequality (Gini)
ChinaChina
36
Japan
32.3
11% higher
CO2 Per Capita
ChinaChina
8.7 t/person/yr
Japan
7.8 t/person/yr
11% higher
Electricity Carbon Intensity
ChinaChina
525.34 gCO2/kWh
Japan
477.26 gCO2/kWh
10% higher
Water Stress (%)
ChinaChina
20.21%
Japan
18.53%
9% higher
Beer Consumption
ChinaChina
1.1 L/person/yr
Japan
1.1 L/person/yr
7% higher
Life Expectancy
JapanChina
78.0 years
Japan
84.0 years
7% lower
Digital Payments Used
JapanChina
88.72% of adults
Japan
95.79% of adults
7% lower
Internet Users (%)
ChinaChina
92%
Japan
87%
6% higher
Birth Rate
ChinaChina
7.3 per 1k
Japan
6.8 per 1k
6% higher
Energy Use (Per Capita)
JapanChina
2.9K kg oil eq/person
Japan
3.0K kg oil eq/person
6% lower
Sanitation Access (%)
JapanChina
97.27%
Japan
99.94%
3% lower
Life Evaluation Score
JapanChina
6.1 pts
Japan
6.1 pts
1% lower
Can Raise Emergency Money
JapanChina
95.1% of adults
Japan
96.08% of adults
1% lower
Electricity Access (%)
ChinaChina
100%
Japan
100%
equal
Lowest Elevation
JapanChina
-154 m
Japan
-4 m
ranked lower
Land Border Length
ChinaChina
22.5K km
Japan
0 km
ranked higher
Official Languages Count
ChinaChina
1.0
Japan
1.0
equal
Border Neighbors
ChinaChina
16
Japan
0
ranked higher
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