If you lived in Germany instead of China, you would:

Health

live 2.8 years longer

In China, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Germany, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 5.9 times more spent on your healthcare

China spends $1,487 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Germany spends $8,826 as of 2024.

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have 45.7% more doctors per person

China has 31.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Germany has 45.3 as of 2022.

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be 2.2 times more likely to be obese

In China, 9.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Germany, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.

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be 44.1% more likely to die by suicide

China has a suicide rate of 8.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Germany, it is 12.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 19.7% less likely to be unemployed

In China, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Germany, that number is 3.7% as of 2025.

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make 4.4 times more money

China has a GDP per capita of $13,862 as of 2025, while in Germany, the GDP per capita is $60,496 as of 2025.

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Life

be 75.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In China, approximately 16.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Germany, 4.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 24.4% less likely to die during infancy

In China, approximately 4.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Germany, on the other hand, 3.1 children do as of 2024.

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have 19.6% more children

In China, there are approximately 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Germany, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 34.4% more on education

China spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Germany spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 2.1 times more on healthcare

China spends 5.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Germany, that number is 12.3% of GDP as of 2024.

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Geography

see 83.5% less coastline

China has a total of 14,500 km of coastline. In Germany, that number is 2,389 km.

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Safety

be 81.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In China, road accidents kill 17.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Germany, they kill 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 82.0% more likely to be murdered

China has a homicide rate of 0.5 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Germany, that number is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 21.2% less likely to feel safe walking alone at night

In China, 91% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2020. In Germany, that number is 72% as of 2020.

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Infrastructure

live with 14.9% less strain on fresh water

China withdraws 42% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Germany withdraws 35% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 76.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In China, air pollution causes 64.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Germany, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.

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emit 25.5% less CO2

China emits 9.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Germany emits 6.9 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Germany: At a glance

Germany is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 348,672 sq km. As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
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