#2 in the world · UN medium projection
China population right now
The 2026 mid-year projection is 1,412,914,089 people. The moving display applies the UN annual numerical change to that 1 July anchor.
Modelled from the 2026 mid-year anchor1,412,914,089−3,182,005 people/year · −0.22%
Direct answer
How many people live in China?
The UN medium projection places China at 1,412,914,089 people on 1 July 2026. That equals 17% of the projected world population.
Annual movement
The population is declining
The model’s annual change is −3,182,005, equivalent to about −8,712 people per average day. This combines births, deaths and net migration; it is not a daily register.
Scale comparison
China and United States
China has about 4.05× the projected population of United States in this 2026 snapshot.
Open United States →Definitions that matter
How to read the snapshot
Population
All ages and both sexes at mid-year. The value is estimated or projected, not a headcount taken on one day.
Urban share
The percentage living in areas classified as urban by national criteria; definitions differ between countries.
Density
1,412,914,089 people divided by 9,388,211 km² of land area.
Net migration
The 2026 model includes −232,107 net migrants within the annual demographic balance.
Primary evidence
One named source, visible limits
Figures use the Medium variant of the 2024 Revision. The UN series covers 237 countries or areas; estimates and projections from 1950 to 2100 and is built from 1,910 population censuses and 3,189 nationally representative sample surveys, alongside vital-registration and other demographic systems.
These are demographic estimates and projections for China population and demographic indicators, not a live register of identifiable people. Mid-year values refer to 1 July; moving counters interpolate a published annual flow between anchors.