Points Frog guide
China vs Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's GDP per person at PPP is 2.5 times China's, and a dollar goes 1% further in Saudi Arabia.
Compare two countries
A UN member state, or a continent's average.
The page updates.
In US dollars, spent in each country.
$100 spent in China buys about what
$99.05
buys in Saudi Arabia, at purchasing power parity
And $100 in Saudi Arabia buys what $101 buys in China. Prices across China's economy average 101% of Saudi Arabia's, so a dollar goes 1% further in Saudi Arabia.
| Measure | China | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||
| Population | 1.41 billion | 37.0 million |
| GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates | $19.5 trillion | $1.28 trillion |
| GDP per personUS dollars | $13,862 | $34,537 |
| GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars | $29,333 | $73,784 |
| Prices | ||
| Price levelUS prices = 100% | 47% | 47% |
| A US dollar goes as far as | $2.12 in the US | $2.14 in the US |
| Income | ||
| Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars | $13.45 a day2022 survey · $4,909 a year · consumption | No recent data |
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
| Measure | China | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| GDP at PPPInternational dollars | $41.3 trillion | $2.73 trillion |
| PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar | 3.398Chinese yuan | 1.755Saudi Arabian riyal |
| GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars | $14,230 | $36,070 |
| GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars | $29,160 | $74,400 |
World Bank income groups: China, upper middle income; Saudi Arabia, high income.
- China
- Saudi Arabia
Year-by-year table
| Year | China | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $25,067 | $63,051 |
| 2024 | $23,841 | $63,194 |
| 2023 | $22,687 | $64,482 |
| 2022 | $21,499 | $67,179 |
| 2021 | $20,843 | $62,690 |
| 2020 | $19,215 | $57,421 |
| 2019 | $18,821 | $62,648 |
| 2018 | $17,807 | $61,359 |
| 2017 | $16,758 | $57,943 |
| 2016 | $15,773 | $57,308 |
| 2015 | $14,857 | $58,499 |
| 2014 | $13,969 | $58,872 |
| 2013 | $13,081 | $57,998 |
| 2012 | $12,218 | $59,472 |
| 2011 | $11,405 | $58,645 |
| 2010 | $10,476 | $54,912 |
| 2009 | $9,519 | $51,761 |
| 2008 | $8,744 | $54,408 |
| 2007 | $8,014 | $53,318 |
| 2006 | $7,057 | $54,374 |
| 2005 | $6,298 | $54,932 |
| 2004 | $5,684 | $54,197 |
| 2003 | $5,192 | $52,235 |
| 2002 | $4,744 | $50,372 |
| 2001 | $4,372 | $53,309 |
| 2000 | $4,066 | $55,962 |
World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.
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<script async src="https://www.pointsfrog.com/embed.js"></script>China vs Saudi Arabia: questions
Is China richer than Saudi Arabia?
China's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $29,333 in 2025, 40% of Saudi Arabia's $73,784, so Saudi Arabia is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $13,862 in China and $34,537 in Saudi Arabia. China ranks 69th and Saudi Arabia 19th of the 186 countries with figures.
How far does a dollar go in China compared with Saudi Arabia?
Prices across China's economy averaged 101% of Saudi Arabia's in 2025, so $100 spent in China buys about what $99.05 buys in Saudi Arabia, and a dollar goes 1% further in Saudi Arabia. Against the United States, prices averaged 47% of US prices in China and 47% in Saudi Arabia. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 3.398 (Chinese yuan) per international dollar in China and 1.755 (Saudi Arabian riyal) in Saudi Arabia.
How big is China's economy compared with Saudi Arabia's?
In 2025, China's GDP was $19.5 trillion at market exchange rates and $41.3 trillion at PPP; Saudi Arabia's GDP was $1.28 trillion at market exchange rates and $2.73 trillion at PPP. At market rates China's economy is 15 times Saudi Arabia's, and at PPP 15 times. China has 1.41 billion people and Saudi Arabia 37.0 million.
Do people earn more in China or Saudi Arabia?
In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $14,230 in China and $36,070 in Saudi Arabia; at PPP it was $29,160 and $74,400. The World Bank classes China as upper middle income and Saudi Arabia as high income. In household surveys, the median person's consumption was $13.45 a day ($4,909 a year) in China, from a 2022 survey of consumption, in 2021 international dollars. The World Bank has no recent survey median for Saudi Arabia.
How has GDP per person changed since 2000?
After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 517% in China from 2000 to 2025, 7.5% a year, and grew 13% in Saudi Arabia, 0.5% a year. China's was 7% of Saudi Arabia's in 2000 and 40% in 2025.
What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?
A rate that converts money between countries by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates, so GDP at PPP compares how much economies actually produce, without exchange rate swings or price gaps.
What's the difference between GDP and GNI?
GDP is the value of everything produced inside a country. GNI, gross national income, adds income residents earn abroad and takes away income sent to foreign owners and workers. They differ most where foreign companies or workers take a large share, as in Ireland or Luxembourg, so GNI per person is closer to what a country's residents earn.
What is the World Bank Atlas method?
A way of converting GNI to US dollars that averages a country's exchange rate over three years, adjusted for inflation, so one year's currency swing doesn't jump it from one income group to another. The World Bank uses it to sort countries into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high income each July.
Why is the median income missing or old for some countries?
Median income or consumption comes from household surveys, which most countries run every few years and some haven't run in a long time. Many lower-income countries measure what households spend rather than what they earn. This page shows the latest survey from the past 15 years in the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, with its year, and says when there isn't one.
Where do these figures come from?
From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with figures through 2025, and median income or consumption from its Poverty and Inequality Platform (September 22, 2026 release). Each figure is the latest the World Bank has for that country, from 2015 on; an older one is left out. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.
Is this comparison financial advice?
No. It's an educational comparison of official statistics. A country's average price level covers its whole economy, so your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy.
How does the comparison work?
- GDP and GNI in US dollars use market exchange rates; at PPP they use the World Bank's purchasing power parities, in international dollars.
- The price level is a country's GDP at market rates divided by its GDP at PPP: its prices against US prices, across the whole economy, not just what households buy. What $100 buys elsewhere is $100 times the ratio of the two price levels.
- GNI per person uses the Atlas method, the measure behind the World Bank's income groups.
- The chart is GDP per person at PPP in constant 2021 international dollars, so it shows growth after inflation.
- Figures: World Development Indicators, updated October 8, 2026; median income or consumption: Poverty and Inequality Platform, September 22, 2026 release. Series: GDP, GDP at PPP, GDP per person at PPP, PPP conversion factor, GNI per person (Atlas), GNI per person at PPP.