It is no secret that India and China are in a race to become the biggest Asian, if not global, tiger. Some experts say that given India's democracy, well-established institutions, advantage of English language and technical expertise, India will surpass China's economic might.
Others claim that China is not only way ahead, India's bureaucracy, corruption, infrastructure woes, etc, will make it nearly impossible for India to even catch up with China, let alone surpass it.
So, let us put China and India head-to-head and see where they stand when it comes to key social and economic indicators.
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Life expectancy at birth
India: 65 years
When was China at this point? 36 years ago
Where is China now? 73 years
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Child mortality rate per 1,000 (under five years old)
India: 66 children per 1,000
When was China at this point? 33 years ago
Where is China now? 19 children per 1,000
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Dependency ratio (percentage of working-age population)
India: 57 per cent of working-age population is dependent
When was China at this point? 25 years ago
Where is China now? 39 per cent of working-age population is dependent
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Adult literacy rate (percentage of 15+)
India: 63 per cent are literate
When was China at this point? 25 years ago
Where is China now? 94 per cent are literate
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Crude birth rate (annual live births per 1,000 population)
India: 23 births per 1,000
When was China at this point? 21 years ago
Where is China now? 12 births per 1,000
...India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Electricity consumption, MWh per person
India: 0.5 per cent
When was China at this point? 18 years ago
Where is China now? 2.5 per cent
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Population living in urban areas (percentage of total)
India: 30 per cent are living in urban areas
When was China at this point? 16 years ago
Where is China now? 46 per cent are living in urban areas
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Population in cities of over one million (percentage of total)
India: 13 per cent
When was China at this point? 11 years ago
Where is China now? 18 per cent are living in urban areas
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Agriculture spending (percentage of GDP)
India: 14 per cent is spent on agriculture
When was China at this point? 9 years ago
Where is China now? 9 per cent is spent on agriculture
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Internet users (percentage of population)
India: 9 per cent use Internet
When was China at this point? 6 years ago
Where is China now? 32 per cent use Internet
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Gross higher-education enrollment (percentage of age group)
India: 13 per cent are enrolled
When was China at this point? Six years ago
Where is China now? 25 per cent are enrolled
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India vs China: Battle of the tigers
Cars per 1,000 population
India: 24 cars per 1,000
When was China at this point? Two years ago
Where is China now? 36 cars per 1,000
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