China
United KingdomCompare countries · China vs United Kingdom
China vs United Kingdom
ChinaEastern Asia
United KingdomNorthern Europe
China is cheaper (cost of living 30.5 vs 67.8).The United Kingdom is more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.730 vs 2.231), scores higher on human development (0.946 vs 0.797) and has the higher income per person ($54,550 vs $14,230).It also has the longer life expectancy (81.4 vs 78.0 years).
Safety
The United Kingdom is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- China2.231Medium safety#117 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United Kingdom1.730High safety#39 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- China0.5Very lowUNODC / World Bank · 2020
- United Kingdom1.1LowUNODC / World Bank · 2021
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- China76.9Very highNumbeo · 2026
- United Kingdom51.7ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- ChinaNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-12
- United KingdomThe FCDO advises on travel from the UK, not within it
Money
Income per person is higher in the United Kingdom
- GNI per personnational income per person, US dollars
- China$14,230HighWorld Bank · 2025
- United Kingdom$54,550Very highWorld Bank · 2025
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- China30.5Very affordableNumbeo · 2026
- United Kingdom67.8ExpensiveNumbeo · 2026
Health
People live longer in the United Kingdom
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- China78.0High#54 of 195World Bank · 2024
- United Kingdom81.4Very high#36 of 195World Bank · 2024
Work and internet
Broadband is faster in China
- Fixed broadbandmedian download speed
- China212 MbpsVery fast#27 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- United Kingdom167 MbpsVery fast#40 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- Youth unemploymentshare of 15 to 24 year olds in the labour force
- ChinaNo figure from Eurostat
- United Kingdom14.9%ModerateONS · 2025
How it changed
Human development: United Kingdom 0.946, China 0.797
ChinaUnited Kingdom
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:ChinaUnited Kingdom
Practical facts
- Capital
- Beijing
- London
- Population
- 1.41B (2025)
- 69.5M (2025)
- Languages
- Chinese
- English
- Currency
- Chinese yuan (CNY)
- British pound (GBP)
- Area
- 9,388,210 km²
- 241,930 km²
- Plug type
- Type A/I
- Type G
- Drives on the
- right
- left
- Short visit
- Visa-free for EU; visa needed for UK and US
- Visa-free for EU and US; visa needed for UK
Short visits: passport-index-dataset, 2024, for UK, EU (German) and US passports. Population and area: World Bank. Languages, currency and driving side: restcountries.com. Plug types: worldstandards.eu.
Every figure
China and United Kingdom, side by side
China leads on 16 United Kingdom on 431 level109 figures. 16 are held for only one country; the other shows a dash. Rows such as population, religion and tax levels have no better or worse end, so they show both values and no verdict. Level means under 2% apart.
Money and cost24
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $29,333Moderate
- $64,606High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $13,862High
- $57,602Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $14,230High
- $54,550Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 94High
- 122.6Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 30.5Very affordable
- 67.8Expensive
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 21.5Low
- 51.9Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 10.4Affordable
- 32.1Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 34.7Low
- 62.8Very high
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 21Very low
- 72.9Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 21.5Very expensive
- 8.0Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 0.819Moderate
- 1.571Very high
- Electricity PriceEurostat · 2024
- —
- €0.339Very expensive
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.1%Very low
- 3.9%High
- Pension Replacement aheadOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- 80.6%Very high
- 44.7%Moderate
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 89.4%High
- 99.3%Very high
- Send RemittanceWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- —
- 3.6%Moderate
- Tax WedgeOECD Taxing Wages · 2025
- —
- 32.4%
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 45%
- 47%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 25%
- 25%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 13%
- 20%
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- 7%
- 26.9%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $19,498 bn
- $4,003 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.4%
- 1.9%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 56.6Very high
- 59.1Very high
Work4
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 4.6%
- 4.7%
- Youth UnemploymentEurostat · 2025
- —
- 14.9%Moderate
- Long Work HoursOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- —
- 10.8%High
- Public Holidaysdate.nager.at · 2025
- 6
- 8
Equality7
- Income Inequality aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 36High
- 32.4Low
- Income Share Bot. 20% aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 7.3Moderate
- 7.6Moderate
- Income Share Top 10% aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 28.4High
- 25Low
- Poverty Rate aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2022
- 21.3%Moderate
- 0.9%Very low
- Poverty RiskEurostat · 2025
- —
- 16%Moderate
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.132Low
- 0.083Very low
- Inequality-Adj. HDI aheadUNDP HDR
- 0.670High
- 0.869Very high
Safety6
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 2.231Medium safety
- 1.730High safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 76.9Very high
- 51.7Moderate
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2020–2021
- 0.5Very low
- 1.1Low
- Robbery RateUNODC CTS · 2023
- 0.48Very low
- —
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 17.4High
- 2.4Very low
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 28.7Very high
- 5.8Moderate
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 78.0High
- 81.4Very high
- Infant MortalityLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 4.1Low
- 4.1Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 69.2Good
- 72.7Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 85Very high
- 88Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2023
- 3.1High
- 3.3High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2022–2023
- 5.6Very high
- 2.4Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 32.2%High
- 14.6%Low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- $763
- $5,860
- Clean Water aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 96.1%Moderate
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 31.6Very high
- 7.9Very low
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 82.6Moderate
- 12.1Very low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 9.3%Very low
- 27.4%High
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2022
- 24.7%High
- 13%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 8.8%Moderate
- 5.8%Very low
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 8.9High
- 9.5High
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 3.7
- 10.4
Education and getting online8
- PISA MathOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 489Very high
- PISA ReadingOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 494Very high
- PISA ScienceOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 500Very high
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2023
- 3.9%
- 5.9%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 464Low
- 700Native
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 91.6%High
- 95.5%Very high
- Fixed broadband aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 212 MbpsVery fast
- 167 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 159 MbpsHigh
- 74 MbpsModerate
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.43Moderate
- 1.27Very high
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.07Moderate
- 1.53Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.02Moderate
- 0.29Moderate
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.62High
- 1.23Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.11Moderate
- 1.46Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 2.2Very low
- 8.3Very high
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 9Very low
- 92Very high
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 13.9Very serious
- 79.5Good
Quality of life10
- Human Development aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.797High
- 0.946Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 6.07Moderate
- 6.69Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 134.8Moderate
- 175.9High
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 74.4Good
- 87.8Excellent
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.662
- 1.896
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.963
- 1.458
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.905
- 0.888
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.793
- 0.962
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.089
- 0.191
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.161
- 0.291
People and planet23
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 1,406,585,000
- 69,487,000
- AreaWorld Bank
- 9,388,210 km²
- 241,930 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 39.8
- 41.1
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- -0.17%
- 0.30%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 66.3%
- 83.3%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- -268,126
- 389,911
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 0.1%
- 17.1%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.01
- 1.55
- Avg Household SizeOECD Family Database · 2024
- —
- 2.3
- Single-Person HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- —
- 30.8%
- Lone-Parent HouseholdsOECD Family Database · 2021
- —
- 7.5%
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 1.8%
- 49.4%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 1.8%
- 6.4%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 1.7%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 3.7%
- 0.5%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 0.4%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 89.6%
- 40.2%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 3%
- 1.4%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 9.3Very high
- 4.2High
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 15.2%Low
- 12.2%Low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 24%
- 13.3%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.382Low
- 0.288Very low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.556Very high
- 0.681Very high
Other3
- LiteracyWorld Bank · 2020
- 96.7%
- —
- Receive RemittanceWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 2.8%
- —
- Leisure TimeOECD Better Life Index · 2020
- —
- 14.9
Quick answers
Is China cheaper than United Kingdom?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts China at 30.5 and United Kingdom at 67.8. China is about 55% cheaper overall.
Is China or United Kingdom safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), China scores 2.23 and United Kingdom scores 1.73. United Kingdom ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, China or United Kingdom?
On the UN Human Development Index, China scores 0.797 and United Kingdom scores 0.946. United Kingdom scores higher on this composite of income, health and education. Single indexes hide trade-offs; the full comparison above shows where each country wins.
What is life like in China compared to United Kingdom?
GNI per capita runs $14,230 in China against $54,550 in United Kingdom; people live 78.0 years on average against 81.4; Numbeo users rate healthcare 69 against 73. Those are national averages and they hide the thing you actually feel: capital-city costs run well ahead of the national figure in most countries, and rural provision of healthcare and internet often lags the number shown here. The table below splits it indicator by indicator.