Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Portugal, you would:
Health
be 48.6% less likely to be obese
In Portugal, 18.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
be 22.3% less likely to die by suicide
Portugal has a suicide rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In China, it is 8.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 4.4 years less
In Portugal, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 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 69.8% less spent on your healthcare
Portugal spends $4,928 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
have 46.8% fewer doctors per person
Portugal has 58.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. China has 31.1 as of 2022.
Economy
be 25.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Portugal, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 56.8% less money
Portugal has a GDP per capita of $32,082 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 51.9% more likely to die during infancy
In Portugal, approximately 2.7 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 14.3% fewer children
In Portugal, there are approximately 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 14.3% less on education
Portugal spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 42.0% less on healthcare
Portugal spends 10.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 8.1 times more coastline
Portugal has a total of 1,793 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 30.6% less likely to be murdered
Portugal has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 2.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Portugal, road accidents kill 7.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 23.2% more electricity
Portugal uses 5,294 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.
live with 3.4 times more strain on fresh water
Portugal withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.
Environment
be 6.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Portugal, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.8 times more CO2
Portugal emits 3.3 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: Portugal vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Portugal? See an in-depth size comparison.