4 Maps That Put China’s & India’s Populations Into Perspective

Map comparing China’s population to other major countries by reddit user TeaDranksNote this post is originally from 2015 and some of the population numbers have since changed the main one being India now has more people than China.

TeaDranks, creator of the widely popular World Population Cartogram, is back again with 4 new population inspired maps.

Similar to one of our earlier posts about 8 ways the US fits into the rest of the world, these maps show which countries’ populations would fit inside China and India, the world’s most and second most populous nations.

The first map above shows just how many large countries it would take to equal the population of China. However, the maps below are if anything more surprising. Please note all 4 maps on this page are the work TeaDranks, who deserves all the credit.

China compared to the world’s smallest countriesChina has 21 million more people than the 177 smallest countries on earth put together. Or to put it another way, only 33 countries are excluded from the map above. One of which is India:

China compared to India and the PhilippinesYet, you can also look at the population of China another way. India’s population of 1.252 billion people plus that of the Philippines’ 98.39 million (12th largest) roughly equals China’s 1.357 billion people.

However, with population growing faster in India than China, the two countries are forecast to meet at roughly 1.4 billion each sometime before 2030, assuming of course current trends continue (they very well may not).

And just in case you though India was somehow a small country, have a look at the 4th and final map:

Population of India compared to Africa, United Kingdom and South Korea combinedAs difficult as it may be to believe, India has more people than the continent of Africa (1.111 billion), United Kingdom (64.1 million) and South Korea (50.22 million) combined.

The picture will look quite different by 2050, if current trends continue. At that point, Africa is projected to have 2.4 billion people, India 1.7 billion, United Kingdom 71 million and South Korea 43 million (which could increase if it reunifies with the north before then).

Like to learn more about world population? Then have a look at:

• Seven Billion and Counting: The Crisis in Global Population Growth
• Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update
• Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?

Have any comments about the maps above? Leave them below: