Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Singapore, you would:
Health
be 45.3% less likely to be obese
In Singapore, 17.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
live 5.3 years less
In Singapore, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 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 77.3% less spent on your healthcare
Singapore spends $6,551 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
be 10.5% more likely to die by suicide
Singapore has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In China, it is 8.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 63.8% more likely to be unemployed
In Singapore, 2.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 86.0% less money
Singapore has a GDP per capita of $98,814 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 2.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Singapore, approximately 6.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In China, 16.0 women do as of 2023.
be 86.4% more likely to die during infancy
In Singapore, approximately 2.2 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.
Expenditures
spend 78.1% more on education
Singapore spends 2.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 32.3% more on healthcare
Singapore spends 4.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 75.1 times more coastline
Singapore has a total of 193 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 7.1 times more likely to be murdered
Singapore has a homicide rate of 0.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 9.2 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Singapore, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 69.7% more home broadband
Singapore has 27.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
live with 24.8% more strain on fresh water
Singapore withdraws 33% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.
use 33.1% less electricity
Singapore uses 9,750 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 2.8 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Singapore, air pollution causes 23.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Singapore vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Singapore? See an in-depth size comparison.