Points Frog guide
China vs South Africa
China's GDP per person at PPP is 1.84 times South Africa's, and a dollar goes 14% further in South Africa.
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
$87.77
buys in South Africa, at purchasing power parity
And $100 in South Africa buys what $114 buys in China. Prices across China's economy average 114% of South Africa's, so a dollar goes 14% further in South Africa.
| Measure | China | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||
| Population | 1.41 billion | 64.7 million |
| GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates | $19.5 trillion | $427 billion |
| GDP per personUS dollars | $13,862 | $6,598 |
| GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars | $29,333 | $15,906 |
| Prices | ||
| Price levelUS prices = 100% | 47% | 41% |
| A US dollar goes as far as | $2.12 in the US | $2.41 in the US |
| Income | ||
| Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars | $13.45 a day2022 survey · $4,909 a year · consumption | $6.56 a day2022 survey · $2,394 a year · consumption |
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
| Measure | China | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| GDP at PPPInternational dollars | $41.3 trillion | $1.03 trillion |
| PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar | 3.398Chinese yuan | 7.420South African rand |
| GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars | $14,230 | $6,270 |
| GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars | $29,160 | $15,600 |
World Bank income groups: China, upper middle income; South Africa, upper middle income.
- China
- South Africa
Year-by-year table
| Year | China | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $25,067 | $13,592 |
| 2024 | $23,841 | $13,598 |
| 2023 | $22,687 | $13,695 |
| 2022 | $21,499 | $13,767 |
| 2021 | $20,843 | $13,682 |
| 2020 | $19,215 | $13,251 |
| 2019 | $18,821 | $14,353 |
| 2018 | $17,807 | $14,554 |
| 2017 | $16,758 | $14,574 |
| 2016 | $15,773 | $14,501 |
| 2015 | $14,857 | $14,542 |
| 2014 | $13,969 | $14,643 |
| 2013 | $13,081 | $14,681 |
| 2012 | $12,218 | $14,564 |
| 2011 | $11,405 | $14,434 |
| 2010 | $10,476 | $14,165 |
| 2009 | $9,519 | $13,911 |
| 2008 | $8,744 | $14,298 |
| 2007 | $8,014 | $14,016 |
| 2006 | $7,057 | $13,444 |
| 2005 | $6,298 | $12,862 |
| 2004 | $5,684 | $12,341 |
| 2003 | $5,192 | $11,923 |
| 2002 | $4,744 | $11,698 |
| 2001 | $4,372 | $11,387 |
| 2000 | $4,066 | $11,184 |
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 South Africa: questions
Is China richer than South Africa?
China's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $29,333 in 2025, 1.84 times South Africa's $15,906, so China is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $13,862 in China and $6,598 in South Africa. China ranks 69th and South Africa 107th of the 186 countries with figures.
How far does a dollar go in China compared with South Africa?
Prices across China's economy averaged 114% of South Africa's in 2025, so $100 spent in China buys about what $87.77 buys in South Africa, and a dollar goes 14% further in South Africa. Against the United States, prices averaged 47% of US prices in China and 41% in South Africa. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 3.398 (Chinese yuan) per international dollar in China and 7.420 (South African rand) in South Africa.
How big is China's economy compared with South Africa's?
In 2025, China's GDP was $19.5 trillion at market exchange rates and $41.3 trillion at PPP; South Africa's GDP was $427 billion at market exchange rates and $1.03 trillion at PPP. At market rates China's economy is 46 times South Africa's, and at PPP 40 times. China has 1.41 billion people and South Africa 64.7 million.
Do people earn more in China or South Africa?
In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $14,230 in China and $6,270 in South Africa; at PPP it was $29,160 and $15,600. The World Bank classes both as upper middle income. In household surveys, the median person's consumption was $13.45 a day ($4,909 a year) in China, from a 2022 survey, and $6.56 a day ($2,394 a year) in South Africa, from a 2022 survey, in 2021 international dollars.
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 22% in South Africa, 0.8% a year. China's was 36% of South Africa's in 2000 and 1.84 times 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.