|
Background:
|
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, the
country was beset by civil unrest, major famines,
military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World
War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an
autocratic socialist system 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 and other leaders
focused on market-oriented economic development and by
2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population,
living standards have improved dramatically and the room
for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls
remain tight. |
|
Location:
|
Eastern
Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow
Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and
Vietnam |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
35 00 N,
105 00 E |
|
Map references:
|
Asia |
|
Area:
|
total:
9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly
smaller than the US |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total:
22,117 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470
km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km,
North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 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
regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
14,500 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the
continental margin |
|
Climate:
|
extremely
diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly
mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
deltas, and hills in east |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest
point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
coal,
iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin,
tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium,
magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower
potential (world's largest) |
|
Land use:
|
arable
land: 15.4%
permanent crops: 1.25%
other: 83.35% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
525,800
sq km (1998 est.) |
|
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 |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party
to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
|
Geography - note:
|
world's
fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US);
Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's
tallest peak |
|
Population:
|
1,306,313,812 (July 2005 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 21.4% (male 148,134,928/female 131,045,415)
15-64 years: 71% (male 477,182,072/female
450,664,933)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 47,400,282/female
51,886,182) (2005 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
32.26 years
male: 31.87 years
female: 32.67 years (2005 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.58%
(2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
13.14
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
6.94
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
-0.4
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at
birth: 1.12 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 (2005 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
24.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 27.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 72.27 years
male: 70.65 years
female: 74.09 years (2005 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.72
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.1%
(2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
840,000
(2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
44,000
(2003 est.) |
|
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, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.) |
|
Languages:
|
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) |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2002) |
|
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
: autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol,
Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet)
: municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai,
Tianjin
note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province;
see separate entries for the special administrative
regions of Hong Kong and Macau |
|
Independence:
|
221 BC
(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 ICJ jurisdiction. |
|
Suffrage:
|
18 years
of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief
of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
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)
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
election results: HU Jintao elected president by
the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of
2,937 votes (four delegates voted against him, four
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); two seats were
vacant |
|
Legislative branch:
|
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 |
|
Judicial branch:
|
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) |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
Chinese
Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of
the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties
controlled by CCP |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
no
substantial political opposition groups exist, although
the government has identified the Falungong spiritual
movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive
groups |
|
International organization participation:
|
AfDB,
APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BCIE,
BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA,
MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer),
ONUB, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO,
UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI,
UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
consulate(s): Los Angeles |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing
mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP
96521-0002
telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831
FAX: [86] (10) 6532-3178
consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong
Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang |
|
Flag description:
|
red with
a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow
five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward
the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
|
|
Economy - overview:
|
China's
economy during the last quarter-century has changed from
a centrally planned system that was largely closed to
international trade to a more market-oriented economy
that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major
player in the global economy. Reforms started in the
late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivized
agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual
liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization,
increased autonomy for state enterprises, the foundation
of a diversified banking system, the development of
stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector,
and the opening to foreign trade and investment. China
has generally implemented reforms in a gradualist or
piecemeal fashion. The process continues with key moves
in 2005 including the sale of equity in China's largest
state banks to foreign investors and refinements in
foreign exchange and bond markets. The restructuring of
the economy and resulting efficiency gains have
contributed to a more than ten-fold increase in GDP
since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP)
basis, China in 2005 stood as the second-largest economy
in the world after the US, although in per capita terms
the country is still lower middle-income and 150 million
Chinese fall below international poverty lines. Economic
development has generally been more rapid in coastal
provinces than in the interior and there are large
disparities in per capita income between regions. 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) contain environmental damage and social
strife related to the economy's rapid transformation.
From 100 to 150 million surplus rural workers are adrift
between the villages and the cities, many subsisting
through part-time, low-paying jobs. One demographic
consequence of the "one child" policy is that China is
now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the
world. 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. China has benefited from a huge expansion
in computer Internet use, with more than 100 million
users at the end of 2005. Foreign investment remains a
strong element in China's remarkable expansion in world
trade and has been an important factor in growth of
urban jobs. On 21 July 2005 China revalued its currency
by 2.1 percent against the US dollar and moved to an
exchange rate system that references a basket of
currencies. Reports of shortages of electric power in
the summer of 2005 in southern China receded by
September-October and did not have a substantial impact
on China's economy. More power generating capacity is
scheduled to come on line in 2006 as large scale
investments are completed. The Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party in October 2005 approved the
draft 11th Five-Year Plan and the National People's
Congress is expected to give final approval in March
2006. The plan calls for a 20 percent reduction in
energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010 and an
estimated 45 percent increase in GDP by 2010. The plan
states that conserving resources and protecting the
environment are basic goals but it lacks details on the
policies and reforms necessary to achieve these goals.
|
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$8.158
trillion (2005 est.) |
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$1.833
trillion (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
9.2%
(official data) (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 14.4%
industry and construction: 53.1%
services: 32.5% (2005 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
791.4
million (2005 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 49%, industry 22%, services 29% (2003 est.)
|
|
Unemployment rate:
|
4.2%
official registered unemployment in urban areas in 2004;
substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural
areas; an official Chinese journal estimated overall
unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003 at 20%
(2004) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
10% (2001
est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest
10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
44 (2002)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
1.9%
(2005 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
43.6% of
GDP (2005 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $392.1 billion
expenditures: $424.3 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (2005 est.) |
|
Public debt:
|
28.8% of
GDP (2005 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
rice,
wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley,
apples, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish |
|
Industries:
|
mining
and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other
metals; coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and
apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers;
consumer products, including footwear, toys, and
electronics; food processing; transportation equipment,
including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships,
and aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial
space launch vehicles and satellites |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
27.7%
(2005 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
2.19
trillion kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
2.17
trillion kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
10.6
billion kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
1.546
billion kWh (2003) |
|
Oil - production:
|
3.504
million bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
6.391
million bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
340,300
bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
3.226
million bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
18.26
billion bbl (2004) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
35.02
billion cu m (2003) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
33.91
billion cu m (2003) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
2.79
billion cu m (2004) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m
(2004) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
2.53
trillion cu m (2004) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$129.1
billion (2005 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$752.2
billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 21.1%,
Hong Kong 17%, Japan 12.4%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 4%
(2004) |
|
Imports:
|
$631.8
billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Japan
16.8%, Taiwan 11.4%, South Korea 11.1%, US 8%, Germany
5.4% (2004) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$795.1
billion (2005 est.) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$242
billion (2005 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
NA |
|
Currency (code):
|
yuan (CNY)
note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
|
|
Exchange rates:
|
yuan per
US dollar - 8.19 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003),
8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar
year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
263
million (2003) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
269
million (2003) |
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment: domestic and international
services are increasingly available for private use;
unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal
cities, industrial centers, and many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines
and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a
domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in
place
international: country code - 86; satellite earth
stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several
international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea,
Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000) |
|
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 country code:
|
.cn |
|
Internet hosts:
|
160,421
(2003) |
|
Internet users:
|
94
million (2004) |
|
Airports:
|
472 (2004
est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
389
over 3,047 m: 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 120
1,524 to 2,437 m: 139
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 53 (2005 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
117
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 29
under 914 m: 36 (2005 est.) |
|
Heliports:
|
30 (2005
est.) |
|
Pipelines:
|
gas
15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km
(2004) |
|
Railways:
|
total:
71,898 km
standard gauge: 71,898 km 1.435-m gauge (18,115
km electrified)
dual gauge: 23,945 km (multiple track not
included in total) (2002) |
|
Roadways:
|
total:
1,809,829 km
paved: 1,447,682 km (with at least 29,745 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 362,147 km (2003) |
|
Waterways:
|
121,557
km (2002) |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total:
1,649 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,724,653 GRT/27,749,784
DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 362, cargo
696, chemical tanker 38, combination ore/oil 1,
container 135, liquefied gas 30, passenger 7,
passenger/cargo 81, petroleum tanker 246, refrigerated
cargo 30, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle carrier 10
foreign-owned: 9 (Hong Kong 4, Japan 2, South
Korea 2, United States 1)
registered in other countries: 872 (2005) |
|
Ports and terminals:
|
Dalian,
Guangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao,
Shanghai |
|
Military branches:
|
People's
Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes
marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes
Airborne Forces), and II Artillery Corps (strategic
missile force); People's Armed Police Force (internal
security troops considered to be an adjunct to the PLA);
Militia (2003) |
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
18-22
years of age for compulsory military service, with
24-month service obligation; no minimum age for
voluntary service; 17 years of age for women who meet
requirements for specific military jobs (2004) |
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males
age 18-49: 342,956,265 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males
age 18-49: 281,240,272 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
|
males:
13,186,433 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$67.49
billion (2004) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
4.3%
(2004) |
|
Disputes - international:
|
in 2005,
China and India initiate drafting principles to resolve
all aspects of their extensive boundary and territorial
disputes together with a security and foreign policy
dialogue to consolidate discussions related to the
boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other
matters; recent talks and confidence-building measures
have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the
world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute
with portions under the de facto administration of China
(Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad
Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize
Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in
1964; about 90,000 ethnic Tibetan exiles reside
primarily in India as well as Nepal and Bhutan; China
asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together
with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and
possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions in
the Spratlys but is not the legally binding "code of
conduct" sought by some parties; in March 2005, the
national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and
Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic
activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some
of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and
Taiwan; China and Taiwan have become more vocal in
rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands
of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally
declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea,
the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting; certain
islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an
uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of
boundary around Mount Paektu is considered indefinite;
China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of
thousands of North Koreans; in 2004, China and Russia
divided up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun
Rivers, ending a century-old border dispute; demarcation
of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and
although the maritime boundary delimitation and
fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,
implementation has been delayed; environmentalists in
Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's
construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the
Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
|
refugees (country of origin): 299,287 (Vietnam)
estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea) (2004) |
|
Illicit drugs:
|
major
transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden
Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source
country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine |
This page was last updated on 10
January, 2006
|
