If you lived in China instead of Uruguay, you would:

Health

be 73.4% less likely to be obese

In Uruguay, 35.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.

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be 63.8% less likely to die by suicide

Uruguay has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In China, it is 8.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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see 52.6% less spent on your healthcare

Uruguay spends $3,135 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.

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have 33.4% fewer doctors per person

Uruguay has 46.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. China has 31.1 as of 2022.

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Economy

be 38.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Uruguay, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.

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make 45.0% less money

Uruguay has a GDP per capita of $25,216 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.

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Life

be 33.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Uruguay, approximately 6.2 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.

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have 30.9% fewer children

In Uruguay, there are approximately 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 18.1% less on education

Uruguay spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 34.1% less on healthcare

Uruguay spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 22.0 times more coastline

Uruguay has a total of 660 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.

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Safety

be 95.6% less likely to be murdered

Uruguay has a homicide rate of 11.2 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.

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be 33.8% more likely to die in a road accident

In Uruguay, road accidents kill 13.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 42.8% more home broadband

Uruguay has 33.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.

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use 72.1% more electricity

Uruguay uses 3,790 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 3.4 times more strain on fresh water

Uruguay withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 4.0 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Uruguay, air pollution causes 16.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.

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emit 3.6 times more CO2

Uruguay emits 2.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. China emits 9.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

China: At a glance

China (sometimes abbreviated PRC) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 9,326,410 sq km. For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
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