---
title: "China vs Saudi Arabia — area, population, currency"
description: "China is 9,596,960 km² with 1,406,585,000 people; Saudi Arabia is 2,149,690 km² with 36,973,555. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-saudi-arabia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# China vs Saudi Arabia

**China vs Saudi Arabia: China is larger; China has more people**

9,596,960 km² vs 2,149,690 km² · 1,406,585,000 vs 36,973,555

China is 4.5 times larger than Saudi Arabia — 9,596,960 against 2,149,690 km². China is 38 times more populous than Saudi Arabia — 1,406,585,000 against 36,973,555 people.

## Side by side

|  | China | Saudi Arabia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Beijing | Riyadh |
| Area | 9,596,960 km² | 2,149,690 km² |
| Population | 1,406,585,000 (2025) | 36,973,555 (2025) |
| Density | 146.6 /km² | 17.2 /km² |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (CNY) | Saudi riyal (SAR) |
| Official languages | Standard Chinese | Arabic |
| Time zones | UTC+08:00 | UTC+03:00 |
| Calling code | +86 | +966 |
| Drives on the | right | right |
| Continent | Asia | Asia |
| ISO codes | CN / CHN | SA / SAU |

## Population density

China is 8.5 times more densely populated than Saudi Arabia — 147 against 17 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 Saudi riyal.

## 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.

## Saudi Arabia

The Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, is the largest continuous sand desert in the world at about 650,000 km² — bigger than France. Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers or lakes at all, which is true of only a handful of countries. It holds roughly a sixth of the world's proven oil reserves.

> 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 Saudi Arabia?

China is larger — 9,596,960 km² against 2,149,690 km².

### Which has more people, China or Saudi Arabia?

China, with 1,406,585,000 against 36,973,555.

### What is the time difference between China and Saudi Arabia?

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

## Related pages

- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [Saudi Arabia](https://atoneplace.net/country/saudi-arabia/)
- [India vs Saudi Arabia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-saudi-arabia/)
- [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]