China has the second-largest population in the world, behind India. China’s population is roughly 1.4 billion people, but its total has begun to decline after decades of growth.
For much of the modern era, China was the world’s most populous country. India surpassed it around 2023 as a result of continued population growth in India and China’s falling birth rate. China’s population peaked at about 1.4 billion in the early 2020s and has since decreased modestly, according to national estimates and United Nations projections.
The figures generally refer to mainland China. Hong Kong and Macau are Chinese special administrative regions and may be listed separately in population tables, while Taiwan is treated separately in many international datasets. These classification choices can slightly change totals but do not alter the usual ranking of India first and China second.
China remains far ahead of the United States, Indonesia, and other highly populated countries. Its population is concentrated in the eastern half of the country, especially along major river valleys and coastal plains, while the high plateaus and deserts of western China are much more sparsely settled.