For the last two decades, China has grown four times the global growth rate and India three times. Infrastructure, and even the lack thereof, has been an important part of these growth stories. For China, the approach has been characterized by building ahead of demand and facilitating overall economic growth. But for India, growth has occurred despite woefully low infrastructure levels, and the majority of Indian business leaders now believe that infrastructure is the number one constraint on the economy, holding back economic growth by 1.5-3.0% every year−depending, of course, on whose figures you trust.

One of the best ways to trace India and China’s growth trajectories is through infrastructure data – After all, data, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted, is definitive. The table below shows us that China is leading India in every measure of infrastructure development except mobile density and rural road networks.

                        Six Decades of Infrastructure Development: India and China

But data is only the beginning of, and not the complete, story. Sometimes, it raises more questions than it answers: What do these data mean with regards to the choices policy makers have made? Were these choices made intentionally and are these choices still relevant today? What conclusions can we draw about the facets of Chinese infrastructure policy? And are there lessons to be learnt for India?

The next few entries will highlight the different growth strategies available to China and India and the choices they have made.