China vs India: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
China
280.94 million people
in 2020
India
265.71 million people
in 2020
China rank
1st
India rank
2nd
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 280.94 million people against 265.71 million people in India, a difference of 15.23 million people.
That makes China's figure about 1.1 times India's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 182 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 | 16.51 million people | 22.53 million people | 6.02 million people | India |
| 1960s | 30.01 million people | 33.16 million people | 3.15 million people | India |
| 1970s | 39.41 million people | 49.28 million people | 9.87 million people | India |
| 1980s | 63.77 million people | 76.49 million people | 12.72 million people | India |
| 1990s | 107.98 million people | 119.06 million people | 11.09 million people | India |
| 2000s | 192.05 million people | 173.34 million people | 18.72 million people | China |
| 2010s | 242.85 million people | 225.27 million people | 17.58 million people | China |
| 2020s | 280.94 million people | 265.71 million people | 15.23 million people | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents, China or India?
- China, at 280.94 million people against 265.71 million people in India as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between China and India?
- 15.23 million people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do China and India rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 182 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.