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China vs. Afghanistan

Demographics

ChinaAfghanistan
Population1,397,897,720 (July 2021 est.)37,466,414 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 17.29% (male 129,296,339/female 111,782,427)

15-24 years: 11.48% (male 86,129,841/female 73,876,148)

25-54 years: 46.81% (male 333,789,731/female 318,711,557)

55-64 years: 12.08% (male 84,827,645/female 83,557,507)

65 years and over: 12.34% (male 81,586,490/female 90,458,292) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646)

15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670)

25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887)

55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910)

65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 38.4 years

male: 37.5 years

female: 39.4 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.5 years

male: 19.4 years

female: 19.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate0.26% (2021 est.)2.34% (2021 est.)
Birth rate11.3 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)36.08 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)12.57 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.11 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.16 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.17 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female

total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 11.15 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 11.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 10.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 106.75 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 115.21 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 97.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 76.31 years

male: 74.23 years

female: 78.62 years (2021 est.)
total population: 53.25 years

male: 51.73 years

female: 54.85 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.6 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.72 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNA<.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Chinese (singular and plural)

adjective: Chinese
noun: Afghan(s)

adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groupsHan Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) 7.1% (2010 est.)

note: the Chinese Government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups
Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) (2015)

note: current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available, and ethnicity data from small samples of respondents to opinion polls are not a reliable alternative; Afghanistan's 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, and Pashai
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNA12,000 (2020 est.)
Religionsfolk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.3%, Christian 5.2%, Muslim 2%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 51.8% (2020 est.)

note: officially atheist
Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deathsNA<1,000 (2020 est.)
LanguagesStandard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry); note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

major-language sample(s):
????  -  ??????????? (Mandarin)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 78% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1% (2017 est.)

major-language sample(s):

???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? (Dari)

? ???? ? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ??????- (Pashto)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

note 1: data represent most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language

note 2: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them

Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 96.8%

male: 98.5%

female: 95.2% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 43%

male: 55.5%

female: 29.8% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis

soil contact diseases: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)

note: a new coronavirus is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in China; illness with this virus has ranged from mild to severe with fatalities reported; the US Department of State has issued a do not travel advisory for China due to COVID-19; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also recommended against travel to China and published additional guidance at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/novel-coronavirus-china; the US Department of Homeland Security has issued instructions requiring US passengers who have been in China to travel through select airports where the US Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures; as of 19 July 2021, China has reported a total of 119,784 cases of COVID-19 or 8.14 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 0.38 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 10 June 2021, 43.21% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 14 years (2015)
total: 10 years

male: 13 years

female: 8 years (2018)
Education expendituresNA4.1% of GDP (2017)
Urbanizationurban population: 62.5% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data do not include Hong Kong and Macau
urban population: 26.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 97.7% of population

rural: 87.8% of population

total: 92.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.3% of population

rural: 12.2% of population

total: 7.2% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 95.9% of population

rural: 61.4% of population

total: 70.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 3.2% of population

rural: 38.6% of population

total: 38.6% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 97.1% of population

rural: 82% of population

total: 90.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.4% of population

rural: 18% of population

total: 9.3% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 83.6% of population

rural: 43% of population

total: 53.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 16.4% of population

rural: 57% of population

total: 46.8% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population27.796 million Shanghai, 20.897 million BEIJING (capital), 16.382 million Chongqing, 13.794 million Tianjin, 13.635 million Guangzhou, 12.592 million Shenzhen (2021)4.336 million KABUL (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate29 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)638 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.4% (2013)19.1% (2018)
Health expenditures5.4% (2018)9.4% (2018)
Physicians density1.98 physicians/1,000 population (2017)0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density4.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate6.2% (2016)5.5% (2016)
Contraceptive prevalence rate84.5% (2017)18.9% (2018)

note:  percent of women aged 12-49
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 42.2

youth dependency ratio: 25.2

elderly dependency ratio: 17

potential support ratio: 5.9 (2020 est.)

data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
total dependency ratio: 88.8

youth dependency ratio: 75.3

elderly dependency ratio: 4.8

potential support ratio: 21 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook