India, Pakistan and China compared

The essentials

India, Pakistan and China share similar starting points: large populations, low incomes and predominantly agricultural economies around the middle of the twentieth century. Their later performance diverged.

Key points

• Population: China introduced the one-child norm in the late 1970s, which slowed its population growth. One consequence noted is a rising share of elderly people in its population. India and Pakistan have had faster population growth.
• Growth of GDP: China achieved very rapid, sustained growth after its reforms of 1978. India's growth also accelerated, especially after 1991. Pakistan's growth has been more uneven, linked to political instability and dependence on remittances and foreign aid.
• Sectoral development: In China, growth has been driven mainly by manufacturing together with services; in India and Pakistan, mainly by the services sector. In all three, the share of workers in agriculture is much larger than agriculture's share in GDP, though it has fallen over time.
• Human development indicators: China generally performs better than India and Pakistan on indicators like life expectancy, literacy, infant and maternal mortality, and the share of people below the poverty line.
• Freedom indicators: some economists argue that human development measures should also consider the political freedom of citizens, an area where comparisons give a different picture.

Exam tips

Remember the broad pattern rather than exact numbers: China leads in growth and most human development indicators; India's services-led growth contrasts with China's manufacturing-led growth.

Common mistakes

• Saying India's growth has been led by manufacturing like China's; services have been the main driver.
• Using specific yearly figures; these change and are not needed.