Skip to content
ChartBasis
Choose a language: English

Population, long-run history: compare countries

See Population, long-run history for up to four countries side by side.

Countries being compared

Add a country

Population, long-run history by country

Population, long-run history

Annual, Persons, thousands

Source: Maddison Project Database 2023
Population, long-run history: latest observations by country
Date AustraliaChina
18,6921,248,899
18,9071,258,401
19,1511,267,178
19,3711,275,379
19,5951,283,064
19,8051,290,620
20,0481,298,245
20,3201,305,116
20,6941,311,877
21,1131,318,559
21,5531,324,993
21,8911,331,357
22,1971,339,549
22,5881,349,537
22,9801,357,520
23,3261,366,654
23,6641,373,406
24,0361,382,401
24,4451,390,136
24,8231,395,398
25,2041,400,035
25,5291,402,060
25,5741,402,537
25,8261,401,693

Source: Bolt, J. and van Zanden, J.L. (2024), Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update, Journal of Economic Surveys, 1-41, DOI 10.1111/joes.12618. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. The original sources are listed on each page.

All data sources

Original sources of these estimates

GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics

Australia

  • 1820-1828: Butlin, N.G. 'Our 200 Years', Queesland Calendar, 1988
  • 1828-1860: N.G. Butlin, "Contours of the Australian Economy 1788-1860", Australian Economic Review, Sept. 1986, pp. 112-13;
  • 1861-1938/9: N.G. Butlin, Australian Domestic Product, Investment and Foreign Borrowing 1861-1938/9, Cambridge, 1962,pp.460-1; amdended as indicated in N.G. Butlin, Investment in Australian Economic Development 1861-19000, Cambridge, 1964, p. 453 and with revised deflator shown in M.W. Butlin, A Preliminary Annual Databae 1900/1901 to 1973/1974, Discussion Paper 7701, Reserve Bank of Australia, 1977, p. 41
  • 1938/9-1950: from expenditure aggregates in 1966/7 prices in M.W. Butlin, RS/FLW/, p.85.

China

  • 1000-1661: Broadberry, S.N., Guan, Hanhui and David Daokui Li (2018), “China, Europe and the Great Divergence: a Study in Historical National Accounting, 980-1850”, Journal of Economic History, 78, 4, 955-1000
  • 1661–1933: Broadberry, S.N., Guan, Hanhui and David Daokui Li (2018), “China, Europe and the Great Divergence: a Study in Historical National Accounting, 980-1850”, Journal of Economic History, 78, 4, 955-1000
  • 1661–1933: Xu, Y. Z. Shi, B. van Leeuwen, Y Ni, Z Zhang, and Y Ma, (2016) 'Chinese National Income, ca. 1661-1933', Australian Economic History Review 57(3), 368–393
  • 1952–2008: Wu, Harry X. (2014), “China’s growth and productivity performance debate revisited – Accounting for China’s sources of growth with a new data set” The Conference Board Economics Program Working Paper Series EWP#14-01.