Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Australia, you would:
Health
be 69.6% less likely to be obese
In Australia, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
be 31.6% less likely to die by suicide
Australia has a suicide rate of 13.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In China, it is 8.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 5.0 years less
In Australia, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In China, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
see 80.7% less spent on your healthcare
Australia spends $7,691 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
have 23.8% fewer doctors per person
Australia has 40.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. China has 31.1 as of 2022.
Economy
be 13.0% more likely to be unemployed
In Australia, 4.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 78.7% less money
Australia has a GDP per capita of $65,130 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 8.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Australia, approximately 2.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In China, 16.0 women do as of 2023.
be 32.3% more likely to die during infancy
In Australia, approximately 3.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In China, on the other hand, 4.1 children do as of 2024.
have 36.7% fewer children
In Australia, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 22.9% less on education
Australia spends 5.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 42.9% less on healthcare
Australia spends 10.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 43.7% less coastline
Australia has a total of 25,760 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 41.2% less likely to be murdered
Australia has a homicide rate of 0.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 3.9 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Australia, road accidents kill 4.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 29.4% more home broadband
Australia has 36.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
live with 8.9 times more strain on fresh water
Australia withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.
use 33.4% less electricity
Australia uses 9,801 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 33.9% less CO2
Australia emits 14.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. China emits 9.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 6.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Australia, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Australia vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Australia? See an in-depth size comparison.