---
title: "China vs Iran — area, population, currency"
description: "China is 9,596,960 km² with 1,406,585,000 people; Iran is 1,648,195 km² with 92,417,681. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-iran/
site: "At One Place"
---

# China vs Iran

**China vs Iran: China is larger; China has more people**

9,596,960 km² vs 1,648,195 km² · 1,406,585,000 vs 92,417,681

China is 5.8 times larger than Iran — 9,596,960 against 1,648,195 km². China is 15 times more populous than Iran — 1,406,585,000 against 92,417,681 people.

## Side by side

|  | China | Iran |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Beijing | Tehran |
| Area | 9,596,960 km² | 1,648,195 km² |
| Population | 1,406,585,000 (2025) | 92,417,681 (2025) |
| Density | 146.6 /km² | 56.1 /km² |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (CNY) | Iranian rial (IRR) |
| Official languages | Standard Chinese | Persian |
| Time zones | UTC+08:00 | UTC+03:30 |
| Calling code | +86 | +98 |
| Drives on the | right | right |
| Continent | Asia | Asia |
| ISO codes | CN / CHN | IR / IRN |

## Population density

China is 2.6 times more densely populated than Iran — 147 against 56 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- Different currencies: the Chinese yuan and the Iranian rial.

## China

The largest country in the world using a single time zone, so the sun rises in the far west around three hours later by the clock than in Beijing. China has a land border with fourteen countries — more than any other state except Russia, which also has fourteen. Its terrain runs from Mount Everest on the Nepalese border to the Turpan Depression at 154 m below sea level.

## Iran

The Lut Desert has recorded the highest land surface temperatures ever measured from orbit, around 80 °C. Iran is largely a high plateau ringed by mountains — the Zagros and the Alborz, where Damavand reaches 5,610 m, the highest volcano in Asia. The qanat, an underground irrigation tunnel, has been used here for around 3,000 years.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is China bigger than Iran?

China is larger — 9,596,960 km² against 1,648,195 km².

### Which has more people, China or Iran?

China, with 1,406,585,000 against 92,417,681.

### What is the time difference between China and Iran?

China is UTC+08:00 and Iran is UTC+03:30. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country/iran/)
- [India vs Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-iran/)
- [China vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-united-states/)
- [China vs India](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-india/)
- [China vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [China vs Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-japan/)
- [China vs New Zealand](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-new-zealand/)
- [China vs France](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-france/)
- [China vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-germany/)
- [China vs Italy](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-italy/)
- [China vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-russia/)
- [China vs Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-mexico/)
- [China vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-spain/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]