China

• China, officially the People’s Republic of China(Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo), country in East Asia, the world’s largest country by population and one of the largest by area, measuring about the same size as the United States.

• The Chinese call their country Zhongguo, which means “Central Country” or “Middle Kingdom.” The name China was given to it by foreigners and is probably based on a corruption of Qin (pronounced “chin”), a Chinese dynasty that ruled during the 3rd century bc.
• China proper centers on the agricultural regions drained by three major rivers—the Huang He (Yellow River) in the north, the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) in central China, and the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) in the south.
• The country’s varied terrain includes vast deserts, towering mountains, high plateaus, and broad plains. Beijing, located in the north, is China’s capital and its cultural, economic, and communications center.
• Shanghai, located near the Yangtze, is the most populous urban center, the largest industrial and commercial city, and mainland China’s leading port.
• More than one-fifth of the world’s population—1.3 billion people—live in China. More than 90 percent of these are ethnic Han Chinese, but China also recognizes 55 national minorities, including Tibetans, Mongols, Uighurs, Zhuang, Miao, Yi, and many smaller groups.
• Even among the ethnic Han, there are regional linguistic differences. Although a common language called Putonghua is taught in schools and used by the mass media, local spoken languages are often mutually incomprehensible.
• However, the logographic writing system, which uses characters that represent words rather than pronunciation, makes it possible for all Chinese dialects to be written in the same way; this greatly aids communication across China.

China Facts and Figures

Basic Facts
Official name	People’s Republic of China
Capital	Beijing
Area	9,571,300 sq km
	3,695,500 sq mi
Population	1,306,313,800 (2005 estimate)
Population growth rate	0.58 percent (2005 estimate)
Projected population in 2025	1,453,123,817 (2005 estimate)
Projected population in 2050	1,424,161,948 (2005 estimate)
Population density	140 persons per sq km (2005 estimate)
	363 persons per sq mi (2005 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban	39 percent (2003 estimate)
Share rural	61 percent (2003 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Shanghai	12,887,000 (2000 estimate)
Beijing	10,839,000 (2000 estimate)
Tianjin	9,156,000 (2000 estimate)
Wuhan	5,169,000 (2000 estimate)
Chongqing	4,900,000 (2000 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese	92 percent
Zhuang, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Korean, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, and other nationalities	8 percent
Languages
Standard Chinese, or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect); Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, and Hakka dialects; minority languages
Religious affiliations
Officially atheist, but traditionally eclectic.
Nonreligious	42 percent
Buddhist	8 percent
Atheist	8 percent
Christian	7 percent
Muslim	1 percent
Other	34 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total	72.3 years (2005 estimate)
Female	74.1 years (2005 estimate)
Male	70.7 years (2005 estimate)
Infant mortality rate	24 deaths per 1,000 live births (2005 estimate)
Population per physician	595 people (2000)
Population per hospital bed	420 people (2000)
Literacy rate
Total	87.3 percent (2005 estimate)
Female	80.6 percent (2005 estimate)
Male	93.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP)	2.1 percent (1999-2000)
Number of years of compulsory schooling	9 years (2001-2002)
Number of students per teacher, primary school	20 students per teacher (2001-2002)
Government
Form of government	Communist state
Head of state	President
Head of government	Premier
Legislature	Unicameral legislature
	National People's Congress: 2,979 deputies (2003)
Voting qualifications	Universal at age 18
Constitution
4 December 1982, amended in 1993, 1999, 2004
Highest court	Supreme People's Court
Armed forces	Army, Navy, Air Force
Total number of military personnel	2,255,000 (2003)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)	3.9 percent (2003)
First-level political divisions	23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 2 special administrative regions, and 4 municipalities
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$)	$1,417 billion (2003)
GDP per capita (U.S.$)	$1,100 (2003)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	14.6 percent (2003)
Industry	52.3 percent (2003)
Services	33.1 percent (2003)
Employment
Number of workers	772,936,930 (2003)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	47 percent (2000)
Industry	18 percent (2000)
Services	13 percent (2000)
Unemployment rate	4 percent (2002)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue	$104,155 million (2001)
Total expenditure	$107,617 million (1999)
Monetary unit	1 yuan, consisting of 10 jiao
Agriculture
Rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane, potatoes, sugar beets, peanuts, cotton
Mining
Coal, petroleum, graphite, tungsten, molybdenum, antimony, tin, lead, mercury, bauxite, phosphate rock, iron ore, manganese, many other minerals
Manufacturing
Woven textile fabrics, heavy machinery, iron and steel, petrochemicals, fertilizers, cement, manufactured goods
Major exports
Clothing and accessories, textiles, petroleum products, footwear, telecommunications and sound equipment
Major imports
Machinery, steel products and other metals, automobiles, synthetics, agricultural chemicals, rubber, wheat, ships
Major trade partners for exports
United States, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, South Korea, and Germany
Major trade partners for imports
Japan, Taiwan, United States, South Korea, and Germany
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources	78.77 percent (2002 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources	19.61 percent (2002 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources	1.49 percent (2002 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources	0.13 percent (2002 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people	335 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people	209 (2003)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people	303 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people	1.3 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people	42 (1990 estimate)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people	12 (2000)
Paved road as a share of total roads	22 percent (1999)