Comparing China and India by Economy

China and India are the two emerging economies in the world. As of 2025, China and India are the 2nd and 4th largest economies in the world, respectively, on a nominal basis. On a PPP basis, China is in 1st place, and India is in 3rd. Both countries share 20.58% and 28.21% of the total global wealth in nominal and PPP terms, respectively. Among Asian countries, China and India together contribute more than 56% of Asia's GDP.

In 1987, the GDP (nominal) of both countries was almost equal; even in PPP terms, China was slightly ahead of India in 1990. Now in 2025, China's GDP of $19,232 billion is 4.6 times higher than India's $4,187 billion. On a PPP basis, the GDP of China (Int. $40,716 billion) is 2.31x that of India (Int. $17,647 billion). China crossed the $1 trillion mark in 1998, while India crossed it nine years later in 2007 on an exchange rate basis.

Both countries have been neck-and-neck in GDP per capita terms till 1991. As per both methods, India was richer than China in 1990. In 2025, China ($13,687) is almost 4.76 times richer than India ($2,878) on the nominal and 2.39 times richer in the ppp method. The per capita rank of China and India is 73rd and 142nd, respectively, in nominal terms. The per capita rank of China and India is 77th and 125th, respectively, in PPP.

China attains a maximum GDP growth rate of 19.30% in 1970 and a minimum of -27.27% in 1961. India reached an all-time high of 9.69% in 2021 and a record low of -5.78% in 2020. From 1961 to 2024, China grew by more than 10% in 22 years, while India never did. GDP growth rate was negative in five years for both China and India.

• GDP
• GDP per capita
• GDP growth

Projections by IMF

Estimates by World Bank