China is a unique nation and has been the most populous planet for the last few centuries. Considering ethnic Chinese living in other countries, it's estimated that about 1-in-5 people on the planet are Chinese. Twenty-percent. The population of China in 2020 was 1.44 billion people. Recently it's been announced that India, whose population in 2020 was 1.38 billion people, will soon be the most populated country on Earth.