Map: China’s Provinces Rival Countries in Population Size

Published

5 years ago

December 8, 2018

Iman Ghosh

View a high resolution version of this graphic.

Chart: China’s Provinces Rival Countries in Population Size

The very mention of China triggers both awe and anxiety in the mainstream media.

With the globe’s largest GDP (PPP) at $23.12 trillion, China is indisputably a close contender for the title of world’s largest economic superpower along with the United States.

But what makes this possible in the first place? The country’s economic clout arguably stems from its human capital: a 1.4 billion-strong population.

A Force to be Reckoned With

Each of China’s 33 distinct regions is home to a population size on par with entire countries:

Chinese Province	Population (millions)	Comparable Countries	Population (millions)
🇨🇳 Anhui	62	🇫🇷 France	64.5
🇨🇳 Beijing	21.7	🇫🇮 Finland, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇳🇴 Norway	20.7
🇨🇳 Chongqing	30.5	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	31.7
🇨🇳 Fujian	38.7	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	34.6
🇨🇳 Gansu	26.1	🇾🇪 Yemen	29.1
🇨🇳 Guangdong	110	🇵🇭 Philippines	103.2
🇨🇳 Guangxi	48.4	🇨🇴 Colombia	48.7
🇨🇳 Guizhou	35.5	🇲🇦 Morocco	34.5
🇨🇳 Hainan	9.1	🇦🇹 Austria	8.7
🇨🇳 Hebei	74.7	🇹🇭 Thailand	69
🇨🇳 Heilongjiang	38	🇮🇶 Iraq	37.9
🇨🇳 Henan	95.3	🇪🇬 Egypt	90.2
🇭🇰 Hong Kong	7.3	🇯🇲 Jamaica, 🇨🇷 Costa Rica	7.7
🇨🇳 Hubei	58.8	🇰🇷 South Korea	51.2
🇨🇳 Hunan	68.2	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	65.6
🇨🇳 Jiangsu	80	🇹🇷 Turkey	79.8
🇨🇳 Jiangxi	45.9	🇦🇷 Argentina	43.6
🇨🇳 Jilin	27.3	🇬🇭 Ghana	27.6
🇨🇳 Liaoning	43.8	🇪🇸 Spain	46.4
🇲🇴 Macau	0.61	🇲🇪 Montenegro	0.62
🇨🇳 Inner Mongolia	25.2	🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇳🇱 Netherlands	23.3
🇨🇳 Ningxia	6.7	🇸🇻 El Salvador	6.3
🇨🇳 Qinghai	5.9	🇸🇬 Singapore	5.6
🇨🇳 Shaanxi	38.1	🇵🇱 Poland	38
🇨🇳 Shandong	99.5	🇻🇳 Vietnam	92.7
🇨🇳 Shanghai	24.2	🇷🇴 Romania, 🇭🇷 Croatia	24.5
🇨🇳 Shanxi	36.8	🇨🇦 Canada	36.2
🇨🇳 Sichuan	82.6	🇩🇪 Germany	82.3
🇨🇳 Tianjin	15.6	🇸🇰 Slovakia, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic	16
🇨🇳 Xinjiang	24	🇦🇺 Australia	24.4
🇨🇳 Xizang (Tibet)	3.3	🇺🇾 Uruguay	3.5
🇨🇳 Yunnan	47.7	🇰🇪 Kenya	45.4
🇨🇳 Zhejiang	55.9	🇿🇦 South Africa	55.6

To drill down further, China is composed of:

4 municipalities
Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin

5 autonomous regions
Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang

2 special administrative regions (SAR)
Hong Kong and Macau

The remaining 22 are the officially-labeled provinces of China.

It’s worth noting that Taiwan is also claimed as one of China’s provinces, even though there is some ambiguity and disagreement around Taiwan’s actual political status.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that every region, and especially the massive cities with them, are substantial contributors to the country’s growth and success.

A New Demographic Era Ahead

Going forward, China’s population may cease to be a strength that contributes to rapid economic growth.

In the wake of the infamous one child policy, the country could soon by dealing with the demographic time bomb of a rapidly aging population.

China population pyramid

Source: Population Pyramid

By 2050, almost four in ten people in China will be above the age of 60, which will create an added strain on the already declining working-age population.

The good news for China?

The country is making moves to combat the challenges ahead, including ambitious plans to build a $1 trillion artificial intelligence industry by 2030 – an attempt to close the impending labor gap.

Related Topics:china demographics population growth economic impact

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U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion

U.S. debt interest payments have surged past the $1 trillion dollar mark, amid high interest rates and an ever-expanding debt burden.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Niccolo Conte

This line chart shows U.S. debt interest payments over modern history.

U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The cost of paying for America’s national debt crossed the $1 trillion dollar mark in 2023, driven by high interest rates and a record $34 trillion mountain of debt.

Over the last decade, U.S. debt interest payments have more than doubled amid vast government spending during the pandemic crisis. As debt payments continue to soar, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that debt servicing costs surpassed defense spending for the first time ever this year.

This graphic shows the sharp rise in U.S. debt payments, based on data from the Federal Reserve.

A $1 Trillion Interest Bill, and Growing

Below, we show how U.S. debt interest payments have risen at a faster pace than at another time in modern history:

Date	Interest Payments	U.S. National Debt
2023	$1.0T	$34.0T
2022	$830B	$31.4T
2021	$612B	$29.6T
2020	$518B	$27.7T
2019	$564B	$23.2T
2018	$571B	$22.0T
2017	$493B	$20.5T
2016	$460B	$20.0T
2015	$435B	$18.9T
2014	$442B	$18.1T
2013	$425B	$17.2T
2012	$417B	$16.4T
2011	$433B	$15.2T
2010	$400B	$14.0T
2009	$354B	$12.3T
2008	$380B	$10.7T
2007	$414B	$9.2T
2006	$387B	$8.7T
2005	$355B	$8.2T
2004	$318B	$7.6T
2003	$294B	$7.0T
2002	$298B	$6.4T
2001	$318B	$5.9T
2000	$353B	$5.7T
1999	$353B	$5.8T
1998	$360B	$5.6T
1997	$368B	$5.5T
1996	$362B	$5.3T
1995	$357B	$5.0T
1994	$334B	$4.8T
1993	$311B	$4.5T
1992	$306B	$4.2T
1991	$308B	$3.8T
1990	$298B	$3.4T
1989	$275B	$3.0T
1988	$254B	$2.7T
1987	$240B	$2.4T
1986	$225B	$2.2T
1985	$219B	$1.9T
1984	$205B	$1.7T
1983	$176B	$1.4T
1982	$157B	$1.2T
1981	$142B	$1.0T
1980	$113B	$930.2B
1979	$96B	$845.1B
1978	$84B	$789.2B
1977	$69B	$718.9B
1976	$61B	$653.5B
1975	$55B	$576.6B
1974	$50B	$492.7B
1973	$45B	$469.1B
1972	$39B	$448.5B
1971	$36B	$424.1B
1970	$35B	$389.2B
1969	$30B	$368.2B
1968	$25B	$358.0B
1967	$23B	$344.7B
1966	$21B	$329.3B

Interest payments represent seasonally adjusted annual rate at the end of Q4.

At current rates, the U.S. national debt is growing by a remarkable $1 trillion about every 100 days, equal to roughly $3.6 trillion per year.

As the national debt has ballooned, debt payments even exceeded Medicaid outlays in 2023—one of the government’s largest expenditures. On average, the U.S. spent more than $2 billion per day on interest costs last year. Going further, the U.S. government is projected to spend a historic $12.4 trillion on interest payments over the next decade, averaging about $37,100 per American.

Exacerbating matters is that the U.S. is running a steep deficit, which stood at $1.1 trillion for the first six months of fiscal 2024. This has accelerated due to the 43% increase in debt servicing costs along with a $31 billion dollar increase in defense spending from a year earlier. Additionally, a $30 billion increase in funding for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in light of the regional banking crisis last year was a major contributor to the deficit increase.

Overall, the CBO forecasts that roughly 75% of the federal deficit’s increase will be due to interest costs by 2034.