Skip to content
567politics.

Independent news. Every side examined. Sources and data linked.

567politics guide

China vs Iraq

China's GDP per person at PPP is 2.1 times Iraq's, and a dollar goes 25% further in Iraq.

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

$80.24

buys in Iraq, at purchasing power parity

And $100 in Iraq buys what $125 buys in China. Prices across China's economy average 125% of Iraq's, so a dollar goes 25% further in Iraq.

World Bank figures for 2025 unless another year is shown
MeasureChinaIraq
Economy
Population1.41 billion47.0 million
GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates$19.5 trillion$254 billion
GDP per personUS dollars$13,862$5,410
GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars$29,333$14,267
Prices
Price levelUS prices = 100%47%38%
A US dollar goes as far as$2.12 in the US$2.64 in the US
Income
Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars$13.45 a day2022 survey · $4,909 a year · consumption$10.89 a day2023 survey · $3,975 a year · consumption
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
Gross national income is what residents earn, at home and abroad
MeasureChinaIraq
GDP at PPPInternational dollars$41.3 trillion$671 billion
PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar3.398Chinese yuan492.9Iraqi dinar
GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars$14,230$5,690
GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars$29,160$14,290

World Bank income groups: China, upper middle income; Iraq, upper middle income.

GDP per person at PPP · 2000 to 2025, in constant 2021 international dollarsAdjusted for inflation, so recent years read lower than the current-dollar figures above.
  • China
  • Iraq
Year-by-year table
YearChinaIraq
2025$25,067$12,192
2024$23,841$12,725
2023$22,687$13,202
2022$21,499$13,433
2021$20,843$12,732
2020$19,215$12,828
2019$18,821$14,910
2018$17,807$14,456
2017$16,758$14,418
2016$15,773$15,016
2015$14,857$13,516
2014$13,969$13,537
2013$13,081$13,713
2012$12,218$13,357
2011$11,405$12,268
2010$10,476$11,817
2009$9,519$11,471
2008$8,744$11,512
2007$8,014$10,854
2006$7,057$10,569
2005$6,298$10,078
2004$5,684$10,211
2003$5,192$6,849
2002$4,744$11,144
2001$4,372$12,530
2000$4,066$12,702

World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.

Embed this calculator on your site

How it works

China vs Iraq: questions

Is China richer than Iraq?

China's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $29,333 in 2025, 2.1 times Iraq's $14,267, so China is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $13,862 in China and $5,410 in Iraq. China ranks 69th and Iraq 111th of the 186 countries with figures.

How far does a dollar go in China compared with Iraq?

Prices across China's economy averaged 125% of Iraq's in 2025, so $100 spent in China buys about what $80.24 buys in Iraq, and a dollar goes 25% further in Iraq. Against the United States, prices averaged 47% of US prices in China and 38% in Iraq. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 3.398 (Chinese yuan) per international dollar in China and 492.9 (Iraqi dinar) in Iraq.

How big is China's economy compared with Iraq's?

In 2025, China's GDP was $19.5 trillion at market exchange rates and $41.3 trillion at PPP; Iraq's GDP was $254 billion at market exchange rates and $671 billion at PPP. At market rates China's economy is 77 times Iraq's, and at PPP 62 times. China has 1.41 billion people and Iraq 47.0 million.

Do people earn more in China or Iraq?

In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $14,230 in China and $5,690 in Iraq; at PPP it was $29,160 and $14,290. 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 $10.89 a day ($3,975 a year) in Iraq, from a 2023 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 fell 4% in Iraq, −0.2% a year. China's was 32% of Iraq's in 2000 and 2.1 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?