China vs India: Number of children under 5
China
58.04 million people
in 2023
India
114.67 million people
in 2023
China rank
2nd
India rank
1st
Number of children under 5 over time
- China
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 114.67 million people against 58.04 million people in China, a difference of 56.62 million people.
That makes India's figure about 2.0 times China's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was China ahead.
China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and India in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 97.94 million people | 62.21 million people | 35.74 million people | China |
| 1960s | 112.03 million people | 78.72 million people | 33.31 million people | China |
| 1970s | 125.44 million people | 94.28 million people | 31.16 million people | China |
| 1980s | 109.10 million people | 114.17 million people | 5.07 million people | India |
| 1990s | 107.21 million people | 127.89 million people | 20.67 million people | India |
| 2000s | 82.22 million people | 132.80 million people | 50.58 million people | India |
| 2010s | 88.74 million people | 124.86 million people | 36.12 million people | India |
| 2020s | 69.51 million people | 116.53 million people | 47.02 million people | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of children under 5, China or India?
- India, at 114.67 million people against 58.04 million people in China as of 2023.
- What is the difference in number of children under 5 between China and India?
- 56.62 million people, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do China and India rank globally for number of children under 5?
- China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of children under 5. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.