China Statistics
Location:
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Area:
9,596,960 sq km (3,705,407 sq mi)
Border countries:
Afghanistan 76 km (47 mi), Bhutan 470 km (292 mi), Burma 2,185 km (1,358 mi), India 3,380 km (2,100 mi), Kazakhstan 1,533 km (952.6 mi), North Korea 1,416 km (879.9 mi), Kyrgyzstan 858 km (533 mi), Laos 423 km (263 mi), Mongolia 4,677 km (2,906 mi), Nepal 1,236 km (768.0 mi), Pakistan 523 km (325 mi), Russia – northeast 3,605 km (2,240 mi), Russia – northwest 40 km (25 mi), Tajikistan 414 km (257 mi), Vietnam 1,281 km (796.0)
Regional borders:
Hong Kong 30 km (19 mi), Macau 0.34 km (0.21 mi) Climate:
Extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north Terrain:
Mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Natural hazards:
Frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Environment – current issues:
Air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Population:
1,330,044,605 (July 2008 est.) Median age:
33.6 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.629% (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
73.18 years (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.77 children born/woman (2008 est.) HIV/AIDS – Adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
water contact disease: leptospirosis
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among U.S. citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups:
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions:
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-n2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Languages:
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.9% male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2000 census)
Country name:
conventional long form: People’s Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhongguo abbreviation: PRC
Government type:
Communist state
Capital:
Beijing
Administrative divisions:
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin
note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; Hong Kong and Macau are classified as Special Administrative Regions
Independence:
221 B.C.E. (unification under the Qin, or Ch’in, Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People’s Republic established)
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of
China, 1 October (1949)
Constitution:
Most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Legal system:
Based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal Government:
chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President XI Jinping
(since 15 March 2008)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Executive Vice Premier LI Keqiang (17 March 2008), Vice Premier HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003), Vice Premier ZHANG Deijiang (since 17 March 2008), and Vice Premier WANG
Qishan (since 17 March 2008)
cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People’s Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People’s Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2008 (next to be held in mid-March 2013); premier nominated by president, confirmed by National People’s Congress
election results: HU Jintao elected president by National People’s Congress with a total of 2,963 votes; XI Jinping elected vice president with a total of 2,919 votes
Legislative branch:
Unicameral National People’s Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,987 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people’s congresses, and People’s Liberation Army to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2007-February 2008; date of next election – NA
Judicial branch:
Supreme People’s Court (judges appointed by the National People’s Congress); Local People’s Courts (comprise higher, intermediate, and basic courts); Special People’s Courts (primarily military, maritime, railway transportation, and forestry courts)
Political parties and leaders:
Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled
by CCP
International organization participation:
ADB, AfDB, APEC, APT, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
GDP – real growth rate:
11.4% (2007 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
USD 5,300 (2007 est.)
GDP – composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.7% industry: 49.2% services: 39.1%
Note: industry includes construction (2007 est.)
Labor force:
803.3 million (2007 est.)
Labor force – by occupation:
agriculture: 43%
industry: 25%
services: 32% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
4% unemployment in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
8%
note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official “absolute poverty” line (approx. USD 90 per year); and an additional 35.5 million rural population live above that, but below the official “low income” line (approximately USD 125 per year). (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.7% (2007 est.) Exchange rates:
Yuan per U.S. dollar: 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277
(2003)
Telephones – main lines in use:
368 million (2006)
Telephones – mobile cellular:
461.1 million (2006)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations, and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Internet users:
162 million (2007) Airports:
467 (2007)
Airports – with paved runways:
total: 403
over 3,047 m (1.89 mi): 58
2,438 to 3,047 m (1.51-1.89 mi): 128
1,524 to 2,437 m (0.95-1.51 mi): 130
914 to 1,523 m (0.57-0.95 mi): 20
under 914 m (0.57 mi): 67