Objective To analyze the epidemic status of breast cancer globally and in China based on gender (female), age, and human development index (HDI) according to the Global cancer statistics 2022 published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Methods The epidemiological data of breast cancer from 185 countries and territories were sourced from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database. The HDI data were compiled based on the Human development report 2022 published by the United Nations Development Programme. The epidemiological data were stratified by age, gender, and HDI to describe the prevalence of breast cancer globally and in China. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation of standardized incidence rate (SIR), standardized mortality rate (SMR) and mortality-to-incidence ratio (M/I) with HDI. Results The data of 175 countries and territories were included. The number of breast cancer incident cases worldwide was 2 297 000 in 2022, ranking the 2^nd only to lung cancer, with an SIR of 46.8 per 100 000 (ranking the 1^st in the world). The number of breast cancer deaths globally was 666 000, ranking the 4^th among all cancer deaths, with an SMR of 12.7 per 100 000 (ranking the 2^nd worldwide). In China, the number of breast cancer incident cases was 357 000, ranking the 6^th among all cancers, accounting for 15.5% of the global breast cancers, with an SIR of 33.0 per 100 000 (ranking the 2^nd among all cancers in China). The number of breast cancer deaths in China was 75 000, ranking the 7^th among all cancer deaths, accounting for 11.3% of the global breast cancer deaths, with an SMR of 6.1 per 100 000 (ranking the 6^th among all cancer deaths in China). For females around the world, the number of breast cancer incidents and deaths, SIR, and SMR ranked the 1^st among all cancers. For Chinese females, both the incident number of breast cancer and SIR ranked the 2^nd, while the deaths and SMR ranked the 5^th and the 4^th, respectively. SIR was positively correlated with HDI (r＝0.76, P＜0.01), M/I was negatively correlated with HDI (r＝－0.89, P＜0.01), while SMR was not correlated with HDI (r＝－0.09, P＝0.23). The incidence of breast cancer worldwide and in China increased with age from 25 to 29 years old. The number of breast cancer deaths in the world increased with age from 30 years old, peaked at 50-59 years old, and declined after 70 years old. The breast cancer deaths in China showed 2 small peaks at the age of 50-54 and 65-69 years old, and gradually decreased after 70 years old. The age-dependent trend of SIR varied in different countries and territories with different HDI levels, as well as globally and in China, whereas SMR continued to increase with age. Conclusion The disease burden of breast cancer is serious globally and in China. Especially in females, both SIR and SMR rank the 1^st in the world; although they rank the 2^nd and the 4^th, respectively, in China, the number of incidents and deaths cannot be ignored. HDI is positively correlated with SIR and negatively correlated with M/I, however, with no correlation with SMR. The SIR in countries and territories with different HDI levels changes differently with age, while SMR increases with age in all.