China vs Indonesia: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
China
280.94 million people
in 2020
Indonesia
89.18 million people
in 2020
China rank
1st
Indonesia rank
3rd
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- China
- Indonesia
How they compare
China currently reports 280.94 million people against 89.18 million people in Indonesia, a difference of 191.75 million people.
That makes China's figure about 3.2 times Indonesia's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and Indonesia ranks 3rd of 182 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Indonesia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 16.51 million people | 8.09 million people | 8.42 million people | China |
| 1960s | 30.01 million people | 14.28 million people | 15.73 million people | China |
| 1970s | 39.41 million people | 26.75 million people | 12.66 million people | China |
| 1980s | 63.77 million people | 39.45 million people | 24.32 million people | China |
| 1990s | 107.98 million people | 51.82 million people | 56.16 million people | China |
| 2000s | 192.05 million people | 64.66 million people | 127.39 million people | China |
| 2010s | 242.85 million people | 79.28 million people | 163.56 million people | China |
| 2020s | 280.94 million people | 89.18 million people | 191.75 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 Indonesia?
- China, at 280.94 million people against 89.18 million people in Indonesia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between China and Indonesia?
- 191.75 million people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Indonesia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do China and Indonesia rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- China ranks 1st and Indonesia ranks 3rd 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.