Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Iran, you would:
Health
be 62.2% less likely to be obese
In Iran, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
see 39.7% more spent on your healthcare
Iran spends $1,064 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
have 71.8% more doctors per person
Iran has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. China has 31.1 as of 2022.
be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Iran has a suicide rate of 4.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In China, it is 8.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 44.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Iran, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 3.5 times more money
Iran has a GDP per capita of $3,924 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 60.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Iran, approximately 10.3 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 46.1% fewer children
In Iran, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 38.3% more on education
Iran spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 5.9 times more coastline
Iran has a total of 2,440 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 15.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Iran, road accidents kill 20.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 3.9 times more home broadband
Iran has 12.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
live with 48.9% less strain on fresh water
Iran withdraws 81% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.
use 71.0% more electricity
Iran uses 3,815 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 25.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Iran, air pollution causes 51.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iran vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Iran? See an in-depth size comparison.