China vs India: Number of people using the Internet
China
1.29 billion people
in 2025
India
1.02 billion people
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
2nd
Number of people using the Internet over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 1.29 billion people against 1.02 billion people in India, a difference of 263.72 million people.
That makes China's figure about 1.3 times India's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 208 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.45 million people | 709,370 people | 740,861 people | China |
| 2000s | 143.34 million people | 29.40 million people | 113.94 million people | China |
| 2010s | 683.77 million people | 205.20 million people | 478.58 million people | China |
| 2020s | 1.16 billion people | 822.62 million people | 335.86 million people | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people using the internet, China or India?
- China, at 1.29 billion people against 1.02 billion people in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in number of people using the internet between China and India?
- 263.72 million people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for number of people using the internet?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 208 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026); United Nations Population Division, national statistical offices, and Eurostat, vi, published as Number of people using the Internet. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Number of people who used the Internet in the last three months.