Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of China, you would:
Health
live 10.8 years less
In China, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
be 4.6 times more likely to be obese
In China, 6.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 29.9% less money
China has a GDP per capita of $16,400 as of 2020, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
be 7.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In China, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
be 27.7 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In China, 0.6% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
Life
have 86.9% more children
In China, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 4.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In China, approximately 29.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
be 3.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In China, approximately 6.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 94.3% more on education
China spends 3.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. South Africa spends 6.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 68.5% more on healthcare
China spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 80.7% less coastline
China has a total of 14,500 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to China? See an in-depth size comparison.