Objective To analyze the incidence and mortality of lung cancer in 2022 globally and in China by combining gender, age, and human development index (HDI) based on the Global Cancer Statistics 2022 issued by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Methods Lung cancer data from 185 countries and territories worldwide were obtained from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database, and the HDI was organized based on data from the Human Development Report 2021 published by the United Nations Development Program. Cancer data were stratified by age, gender, and HDI to describe the prevalence of lung cancer globally and in China. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlations between age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), mortality-to-incidence ratio (M/I) and HDI. Results In 2022, the total number of global lung cancer incidence was 2 481 000, ranking the 1^st among all cancers, and the ASIR (23.6/100 000) ranked the 3^rd among all cancers; the total number of global lung cancer deaths was 1 817 000, ranking the 1^st among all cancers, and the ASMR (16.8/100 000) ranked the 1^st among all cancers. In 2022, the total number of lung cancer incidence in China was 1 061 000, ranking the 1^st among all cancers in China, accounting for 42.8% of the global lung cancer, and the ASIR (40.8/100 000) ranked the 1^st among all cancers in China. The total number of lung cancer deaths was 733 000, ranking the 1^st among all cancers in China, accounting for 40.4% of the global lung cancer deaths, and the ASMR (26.7/100 000) ranked the 1^st among all cancers in China. The number of lung cancer incidence and deaths, ASIR, and ASMR in men were higher than those in women both globally and in China. The incidences of lung cancer, ASIR, deaths and ASMR in the world and China showed an upward trend with age, and then rapidly increased in the group older than 40-44 years group. ASIR and ASMR were positively correlated with HDI (r＝0.739 3, 0.686 5, both P＜0.000 1), while M/I was negatively correlated with HDI (r＝－0.688 1, P＜ 0.000 1) in different countries and territories. Conclusion The burden of lung cancer is serious in the world and China, and the prevalence varies among countries and territories with different HDI levels, genders, and ages.