World Countries Info > China > Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Harbin, Kunming, Shanghai
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the
world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries,
China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign
occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a
dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls
over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After
1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms
and decentralized economic decision-making. Output quadrupled by 2000.
Political controls remain tight while economic controls continue to be
relaxed.
Geography of China
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Location:
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Eastern Asia, bordering the
East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between
North Korea and Vietnam |
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Geographic coordinates:
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35 00 N, 105 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 9,596,960 sq
km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than the
US |
|
Land boundaries:
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total: 22,147.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185
km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea
1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,677
km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia
(northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km |
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Coastline:
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14,500 km |
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24
NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental
margin
territorial sea: 12 NM |
|
Climate:
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extremely diverse; tropical
in south to subarctic in north |
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains, high
plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Turpan
Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
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Natural resources:
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coal, iron ore, petroleum,
natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum,
vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential
(world's largest) |
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Land use:
|
arable land: 13.31%
permanent crops: 1.2%
other: 85.49% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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525,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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frequent typhoons (about
five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods;
tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
|
Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Kyoto Protocol |
|
Geography - note:
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world's fourth-largest
country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with
Nepal is the world's tallest peak;
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More Geography
Population of China
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Population:
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1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 22.3% (male 153,401,051;
female 135,812,993)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 469,328,664; female 443,248,860)
65 years and over: 7.5% (male 46,308,923; female 50,747,133) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 31.8 years
male: 31.5 years
female: 32.2 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.57% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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12.98 births/1,000 |
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Death rate:
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6.92 deaths/1,000 |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live
births
female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total : 71.96 years
male: 70.4 years
female: 73.72 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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850,000 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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30,000 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,
Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% |
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Religions:
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Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%,
Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.) |
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Languages:
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Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua,
based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups
entry) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total : 86%
male: 92.9%
female: 78.8% (2003 est.)
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Government
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Country name:
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conventional long form: People's
Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local short form: Zhong Guo
abbreviation: PRC
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo |
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Government type:
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Communist state |
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Capital:
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Beijing |
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Administrative divisions:
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23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural),
5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi,
singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*,
Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin,
Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan,
Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China considers Taiwan its
23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong
and Macau |
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Independence:
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221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in
Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912;
People's Republic established 1 October 1949) |
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National holiday:
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Anniversary of the Founding of the People's
Republic of China, 1 October (1949) |
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Constitution:
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most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 |
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Legal system:
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a complex amalgam of custom and statute,
largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal
codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil,
administrative, criminal, and commercial law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President HU Jintao
(since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress
for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March
2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG
Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and
HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003)
cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)
election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's
Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38
did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's
Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and
38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral National People's Congress or
Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and
provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held late
2007-February 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by
the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and
local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport
courts) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao,
General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by
CCP |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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no substantial political opposition groups
exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the
China Democracy Party as subversive groups |
Economy
In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish,
inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system.
Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control,
the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been
steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village
responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the
authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of
small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to
increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since
1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2003 stood as the
second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the
country is still poor. Agriculture and industry have posted major gains especially in
coastal areas near Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan, and in Shanghai, where foreign investment
has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often
has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism
(bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (growing income disparities and rising
unemployment). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at
intervals. The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of
millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to
the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the
large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by
subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120
million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many
subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central
policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control
program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another
long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air
pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north.
China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing
says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure -
such as water supply and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform.
Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen its ability to maintain
strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system
of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a
huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in
China's remarkable economic growth. Growing shortages of electric power and raw
materials will hold back the expansion of industrial output in 2004.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $6.449 trillion
(2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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9.1% (official data) (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2003
est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 14.5%
industry and construction: 51.7%
services: 33.8% (2002) |
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Population below poverty line:
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10% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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40 (2001) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.2% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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753.6 million (2002 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28%
(2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial
unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $228.4 billion
expenditures: $267.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
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Industries:
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iron and steel, coal, machine building,
armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys,
food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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16.2% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.42 trillion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 80.2%
hydro: 18.5%
other: 0.1% (2001)
nuclear: 1.2% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.312 trillion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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10.3 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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1.8 billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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3.3 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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4.57 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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409 million bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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1.82 billion bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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26.75 billion bbl (1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - production:
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30.3 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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27.4 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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1.29 trillion cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Agriculture - products:
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rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts,
tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish |
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Exports:
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$436.1 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, textiles and
clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods, mineral fuels |
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Exports - partners:
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US 21.5%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 14.9%, South
Korea 4.8% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$397.4 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, mineral fuels,
plastics, iron and steel, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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Japan 18.1%, Taiwan 12.8%, South Korea
9.7%, US 9.2%, Germany 5.6% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$184 billion (2003 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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NA |
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Currency:
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yuan (CNY)
note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB) |
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Currency code:
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CNY |
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Exchange rates:
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yuan per US dollar - 8.28 (2003), 8.28
(2002), 8.28 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 8.28 (1999) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
History of China
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