Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
be 66.7% less likely to be obese
In Ireland, 27.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
live 5.0 years less
In Ireland, 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 83.1% less spent on your healthcare
Ireland spends $8,772 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
have 19.7% fewer doctors per person
Ireland has 38.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. China has 31.1 as of 2022.
Economy
make 89.5% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $131,592 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 4.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Ireland, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In China, 16.0 women do as of 2023.
be 20.6% more likely to die during infancy
In Ireland, approximately 3.4 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 32.3% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 13.3% less on healthcare
Ireland spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 34.5% more on education
Ireland spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 10.0 times more coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 23.1% less likely to be murdered
Ireland has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 21.9% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Ireland, 75% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2019. In China, that number is 91% as of 2020.
be 6.2 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Ireland, road accidents kill 2.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 46.1% more home broadband
Ireland has 32.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
live with 5.2 times more strain on fresh water
Ireland withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.
Environment
be 4.9 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Ireland, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
emit 54.3% more CO2
Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. China emits 9.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Ireland vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.