Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Spain, you would:
Health
be 39.3% less likely to be obese
In Spain, 15.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
live 5.9 years less
In Spain, the average life expectancy is 84 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 69.9% less spent on your healthcare
Spain spends $4,935 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
have 27.5% fewer doctors per person
Spain has 42.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. China has 31.1 as of 2022.
Economy
be 55.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Spain, 10.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 64.1% less money
Spain has a GDP per capita of $38,627 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 5.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Spain, approximately 3.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In China, 16.0 women do as of 2023.
be 57.7% more likely to die during infancy
In Spain, approximately 2.6 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 15.0% less on education
Spain spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 35.6% less on healthcare
Spain spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.9 times more coastline
Spain has a total of 4,964 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 27.5% less likely to be murdered
Spain 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 5.0 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Spain, road accidents kill 3.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 20.3% more home broadband
Spain has 39.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
use 25.6% more electricity
Spain uses 5,196 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 6.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Spain, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Spain emits 4.5 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: Spain vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Spain? See an in-depth size comparison.