China is a middle-income country with $17.9 trillion GDP (world's 2nd largest) and advanced manufacturing infrastructure, while developing economies collectively represent 159 nations with highly variable income levels, industrialization, and infrastructure ranging from lower-middle-income ($1,136-$4,465 GNI per capita) to upper-middle-income ($4,466-$13,845 GNI per capita). China itself is classified as upper-middle-income by the World Bank, distinguishing it from the broader developing economy category.
China vs Developing Economies — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Upper-middle-income nation with world's 2nd-largest economy and dominant manufacturing base
159 nations classified as lower or upper-middle-income with varied development levels and growth trajectories
GDP (Nominal, 2024). GDP per Capita (2024). Manufacturing Output % of Global. Foreign Direct Investment Inflow (2023). Internet Penetration Rate. Poverty Rate (World Bank poverty line). Infrastructure Quality Index (WEF)
China outperforms developing economies as a group in per-capita wealth, infrastructure quality, manufacturing capability, and digital connectivity, reflecting its progression toward upper-middle-income status. However, the 159 developing economies collectively control larger absolute GDP and receive more cumulative foreign investment, though with significant disparities between individual nations. Choose China-focused strategies for tech, manufacturing, and consumer market opportunities; choose developing economies for labor-cost arbitrage, emerging market growth potential, and diversified geographic investment.
China: $17.7 Trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $292 Billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $33-34 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $~12,000-13,000 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 35% of global output | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: Limited by export controls | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 80%+ | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $400-800 billion potential loss | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 4.6-4.8% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $20.6 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 70% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 94% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: -0.5 to -2.0% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 0.2-0.3% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 60% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery Production
China: -0.5 to -2% ($400-800B reduction) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $17.9 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 5,800 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $3.2 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: One-party communist state | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 88 (not free) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 40% (global EV sales) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $13,738 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $17.9T | Developing Economies (Collective): $35.2T
Government Education Expenditure Per Capita
China: $467 (2023) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $6,177.1 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $296.5 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $1,272.4 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1.4 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $17.9 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1.42 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: €296.5 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: €467 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $620,062.8M | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1.03% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 78.2 years | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 0.796 (Very High) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1,574,822 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 77% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 28% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 28-30% | Developing Economies (Collective): 12-15%
China: $163 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 2nd | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: -0.1% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 4.3% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $23,800 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 45,000 km | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1,830 GW | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 635,000 patents | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 65.5% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $163.1 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $12,700 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: #2 globally | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $850 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 12% (design & manufacturing) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $163 billion (2024) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $43.5T | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: #2 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: #1 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 4.4% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 5.0% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 4.7% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 3.7% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 24.4% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: ~$25.5T | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $14,800 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $30,900 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: ~55% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: ~38% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: ~7% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: World's factory (services rising) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: Largest — ~29% of global value-added | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: ~18% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: ~22% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 2.1% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 28.7% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 95 companies | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 926 million | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
Years to Double GDP at Current Growth Rate
China: 14.6 years | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 4.5% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 5.1% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 27% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $1,830 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 305 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $29.8 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $4.7 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 55% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 21.9% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $13.5 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $35.2 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 4.8% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 8.3% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
Foreign Direct Investment Inflows (2025)
China: $192 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 74% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $23,500 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 2.6% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 73% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $12,900 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 13.5% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 5.2% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $230 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 2.0 million | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 18,600 papers | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1.2 million base stations | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $12,556 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $27.9 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1,420 million | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
Annual GDP Per Capita Growth (2020-2026)
China: $23,850 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 2.18:1 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 3.9% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 2.5% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $7.1 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $189 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $78 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 11th | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $12,720 | Developing Economies (Collective): $5,240
China: 3.1% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 5.0% | Developing Economies (Collective): 4.8% (average)
China: $1.2T | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $163B | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 710M | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 5.3% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $3,590 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1,200 thousand | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 9,596,961 km² | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 0.796 (High) | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $25,100 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 29% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 54% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
Industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers
China: 322 robots | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 1,600k filings | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 45,000+ km | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 38 years | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 77.5 years | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 97% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $17.8 trillion | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: $11,200 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 46.8 | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 53% | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
Years to Double Per Capita GDP at Current Growth
China: 14 years | Developing Economies (Collective): N/A
China: 76.4% | Developing Economies (Collective): 48.2%
China: 0.8% | Developing Economies (Collective): 8.4%
China: 6.1 | Developing Economies (Collective): 4.2
China: 1.42 billion | Developing Economies (Collective): 5.2 billion
Developing Economies (Collective) — Wikipedia
How to choose between China and Developing Economies (Collective)
Compare China vs Developing Economies (Collective)
China vs Developing Economies — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for China vs Developing Economies. Contains 187 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
China vs Developing Economies — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for China vs Developing Economies.
Is China considered a developing economy?
China is classified as an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank (GNI per capita of $12,720 in 2024), not a low-income or lower-middle-income developing economy. However, it is sometimes grouped with 'developing economies' in broader economic analyses due to its 1978 reform origins, though this terminology is increasingly considered outdated for modern China given its $17.9 trillion GDP and advanced infrastructure.
Why do developing economies collectively have larger GDP but lower per-capita income?
The 159 developing economies represent 68% of global population (5.2 billion people) with lower average income levels ($5,240 per capita). While their combined GDP is $35.2 trillion, this is distributed across vastly more people than China's 1.42 billion. China has achieved higher per-capita wealth through industrialization and concentrated manufacturing, whereas developing economies include nations from sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia with varying income levels averaging lower overall.
Why is China's manufacturing output so dominant compared to developing economies?
China controls 28-30% of global manufacturing output due to: (1) 40+ years of industrial infrastructure investment; (2) skilled workforce of 830 million; (3) integrated supply chains and logistics networks (146,000 km high-speed rail); (4) government industrial policy favoring manufacturing; and (5) scale advantages in electronics, textiles, and heavy industry. Most developing economies lack this integrated ecosystem and remain commodity-dependent or focused on agriculture.
What is the growth potential difference between China and developing economies?
China's growth rate (5.0%) is constrained by demographic decline (workforce shrinking 1.1% annually) and industrial maturity. Developing economies average 4.8% growth but with higher variance—East/Southeast Asian economies grow 5-7% while sub-Saharan Africa averages 3-4%. Developing economies have 2.1% annual population growth vs China's 0.1%, suggesting higher long-term growth potential in younger populations, though with more volatility.
Which offers better investment returns: China or developing economies?
China offers: stable returns, advanced infrastructure, large middle-class consumer base, and established supply chains—best for mature investors. Developing economies collectively received $405.6 billion FDI in 2023 vs China's $189.1 billion, indicating stronger growth opportunities with higher risk. Countries like Vietnam, India, and Indonesia within the developing economies category show 6-8% growth with lower valuations, while China's more stable 5% growth reflects market maturity.
How to Choose Between China and Developing Economies (Collective)
GDP (Nominal, 2024): China has $17.9 trillion, while Developing Economies (Collective) has $35.2 trillion (collective).
GDP per Capita (2024): China has $12,720, while Developing Economies (Collective) has $5,240 (average).
Consider: Manufacturing Output % of Global
Manufacturing Output % of Global: China has 28-30%, while Developing Economies (Collective) has 12-15%.
Consider: Foreign Direct Investment Inflow (2023)
Foreign Direct Investment Inflow (2023): China has $189.1 billion, while Developing Economies (Collective) has $405.6 billion (collective).
Internet Penetration Rate: China has 76.4%, while Developing Economies (Collective) has 48.2% (average).
Consider: Poverty Rate (World Bank poverty line)
Poverty Rate (World Bank poverty line): China has 0.8%, while Developing Economies (Collective) has 8.4% (average).
Consider: Infrastructure Quality Index (WEF)
Infrastructure Quality Index (WEF): China has 6.1/7.0, while Developing Economies (Collective) has 4.2/7.0 (average).