Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in China
China: Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex was 0.0853 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.0853
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
174th
of 236 countries
All-time high
0.4859
in 1960
All-time low
0.0853
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in China, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
China recorded 0.0853 for lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 11.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in China peaked at 0.4859 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 0.0853, in 2023.
China ranks 174th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.3626 | — |
| 1951 | 0.356 | -1.8% |
| 1952 | 0.3482 | -2.2% |
| 1953 | 0.3449 | -0.9% |
| 1954 | 0.3354 | -2.7% |
| 1955 | 0.3284 | -2.1% |
| 1956 | 0.3226 | -1.8% |
| 1957 | 0.3165 | -1.9% |
| 1958 | 0.3111 | -1.7% |
| 1959 | 0.4069 | +30.8% |
| 1960 | 0.4859 | +19.4% |
| 1961 | 0.4084 | -16.0% |
| 1962 | 0.2879 | -29.5% |
| 1963 | 0.282 | -2.1% |
| 1964 | 0.2761 | -2.1% |
| 1965 | 0.2701 | -2.2% |
| 1966 | 0.2649 | -1.9% |
| 1967 | 0.259 | -2.2% |
| 1968 | 0.2528 | -2.4% |
| 1969 | 0.2465 | -2.5% |
| 1970 | 0.2399 | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 0.233 | -2.9% |
| 1972 | 0.2261 | -3.0% |
| 1973 | 0.2186 | -3.3% |
| 1974 | 0.2121 | -3.0% |
| 1975 | 0.2056 | -3.0% |
| 1976 | 0.2044 | -0.6% |
| 1977 | 0.1926 | -5.8% |
| 1978 | 0.1872 | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 0.1822 | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 0.1779 | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 0.1738 | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 0.1702 | -2.0% |
| 1983 | 0.167 | -1.9% |
| 1984 | 0.1643 | -1.7% |
| 1985 | 0.1619 | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 0.1597 | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 0.1577 | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 0.1559 | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 0.1542 | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 0.1528 | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 0.1506 | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.1484 | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 0.1458 | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 0.1433 | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 0.1404 | -2.0% |
| 1996 | 0.1376 | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 0.1348 | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 0.1321 | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 0.1293 | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 0.1265 | -2.2% |
| 2001 | 0.1235 | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 0.1206 | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 0.1178 | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 0.115 | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 0.1123 | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 0.1099 | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 0.1075 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 0.1073 | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.1033 | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 0.1015 | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 0.0996 | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 0.0978 | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 0.0962 | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 0.0947 | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 0.0932 | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 0.0918 | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.0906 | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 0.0893 | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 0.0882 | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 0.0871 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.0856 | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 0.0856 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0853 | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.3433 | 0.3111 | 0.4069 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.3033 | 0.2465 | 0.4859 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2102 | 0.1822 | 0.2399 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1642 | 0.1542 | 0.1779 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1415 | 0.1293 | 0.1528 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1144 | 0.1033 | 0.1265 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0943 | 0.0882 | 0.1015 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0859 | 0.0853 | 0.0871 | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
- 171 Northern Mariana Islands 0.0859 compare
- 172 New Caledonia 0.0856 compare
- 173 Armenia 0.0854 compare
- 175 French Guiana 0.085 compare
- 176 Poland 0.0842 compare
- 177 British Virgin Islands 0.0841 compare
More poverty & inequality data for China
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 0.999 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,418 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 0.5767 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 22.1 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 22.1% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in China?
- Lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in China was 0.0853 in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4859 in 1960.
- What is the lowest lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0853 in 2023.
- How does China rank for lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex?
- China ranks 174th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Level of inequality in lifespans, measured between 0 and 1.