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China's
Main Page
Facts
about China
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Population:
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1,330,141,295 (July 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 1 |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 17.9%
(male 128,363,812/female 109,917,641)
15-64 years: 73.4%
(male 501,987,034/female 474,871,442)
65 years and over: 8.6%
(male 55,287,997/female 59,713,369) (2010 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 35.2
years
male: 34.5
years
female: 35.8
years (2010 est.)
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Population
growth rate:
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0.494% (2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 153 |
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Birth rate:
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12.17 births/1,000 population
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 164 |
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Death rate:
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6.89 deaths/1,000 population
(July 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 143 |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.34 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 102 |
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 43%
of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.7%
annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.14
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.17
male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06
male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93
male(s)/female
total population: 1.06
male(s)/female (2010 est.)
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Infant
mortality rate:
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total: 16.51
deaths/1,000 live births
country
comparison to the world: 115
male: 15.84
deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.27
deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
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Life
expectancy at birth:
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total population: 74.51
years
country
comparison to the world: 92
male: 72.54
years
female: 76.77
years (2010 est.)
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Total
fertility rate:
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1.54 children born/woman (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world: 182 |
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HIV/AIDS -
adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% (2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 115 |
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HIV/AIDS -
people living with HIV/AIDS:
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700,000 (2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 17 |
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HIV/AIDS -
deaths:
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39,000 (2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 15 |
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Major
infectious diseases:
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degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial
diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: Japanese
encephalitis and dengue fever
soil contact disease: hantaviral
hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
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 US
citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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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 91.5%, Zhuang,
Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol,
Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other
nationalities 8.5% (2000 census)
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Religions:
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Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist,
Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
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
(Shanghainese), 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 population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5%
(2000 census)
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School life
expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 11
years
male: 11
years
female: 11
years (2006)
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Education
expenditures:
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1.9% of GDP (1999)
country
comparison to the world: 169
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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: 9,596,961
sq km
country
comparison to the world: 4
land: 9,569,901
sq km
water: 27,060
sq km
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Area -
comparative:
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slightly smaller than the US
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Land
boundaries:
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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
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Coastline:
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14,500 km
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Maritime
claims:
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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
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Climate:
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Current
Weather
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
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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:
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arable land: 14.86%
permanent crops: 1.27%
other: 83.87%
(2005)
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Irrigated land:
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545,960 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable
water resources:
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2,829.6 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater
withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 549.76
cu km/yr (7%/26%/68%)
per capita: 415
cu m/yr (2000)
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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
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Environment -
international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, 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
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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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Country
name:
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conventional long
form: People's
Republic of China
conventional short
form: China
local long form: Zhonghua
Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhongguo
abbreviation: PRC
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Government
type:
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Communist state
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Capital:
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name: Beijing
geographic
coordinates: 39
55 N, 116 23 E
time difference: UTC+8
(13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
note: despite
its size, all of China falls within one
time zone; many people in Xinjiang
Province observe an unofficial "Xinjiang
timezone" of UTC+6, two hours
behind 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)
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 Uygur,
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
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Independence:
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221 BC (unification
under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing
Dynasty replaced by the Republic of
China); 1 October 1949 (People's
Republic of China established)
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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 with
amendments in 1988, 1993, 2004
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Legal
system:
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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
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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); 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 National People's
Congress
(For
more information visit the World
Leaders website )
elections: president
and vice president elected by National
People's Congress for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); elections
last held on 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
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Legislative
branch:
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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 in December 2007-February 2008
(date of next election to be held in
late 2012 to early 2013)
election results: percent
of vote - NA; seats - 2,987
note: only
members of the CCP, its eight allied
parties, and sympathetic independent
candidates are elected
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Judicial
branch:
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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)
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Political
parties and leaders:
|
Chinese Communist
Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; 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
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International
organization participation:
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ADB, AfDB (nonregional
member), APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue
partner), BIS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF,
G-20, 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, SICA (observer), UN, UN
Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO,
UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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Diplomatic
representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador
ZHANG Yesui
chancery: 3505
International Place NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1]
(202) 495-2000
FAX: [1]
(202) 495-2190
consulate(s) general:
Chicago,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San
Francisco
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Diplomatic
representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador
Jon M. HUNTSMAN, Jr.
embassy: 55
An Jia Lou Lu, 100600 Beijing
mailing address: PSC
461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone: [86]
(10) 8531-3000
FAX: [86]
(10) 8531-3300
consulate(s) general:
Chengdu,
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan
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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; the color red
represents revolution, while the stars
symbolize the four social classes - the
working class, the peasantry, the urban
petty bourgeoisie, and the national
bourgeoisie (capitalists) - united under
the Communist Party of China
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Economy -
overview:
|
China's economy during the past
30 years 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. Annual
inflows of foreign direct investment rose to
nearly $108 billion in 2008. China has generally
implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal
fashion. In recent years, China has re-invigorated
its support for leading state-owned enterprises in
sectors it considers important to "economic
security," explicitly looking to foster
globally competitive national champions. After
keeping its currency tightly linked to the US
dollar for years, China in July 2005 revalued its
currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and moved
to an exchange rate system that references a
basket of currencies. Cumulative appreciation of
the renminbi against the US dollar since the end
of the dollar peg was more than 20% by late 2008,
but the exchange rate has remained virtually
pegged since the onset of the global financial
crisis. The restructuring of the economy and
resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a
more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978.
Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis
that adjusts for price differences, China in 2009
stood as the second-largest economy in the world
after the US, although in per capita terms the
country is still lower middle-income. The Chinese
government faces numerous economic development
challenges, including: (a) reducing its high
domestic savings rate and correspondingly low
domestic demand through increased corporate
transfers and a strengthened social safety net;
(b) sustaining adequate job growth for tens of
millions of migrants and new entrants to the work
force; (c) reducing corruption and other economic
crimes; and (d) containing environmental damage
and social strife related to the economy's rapid
transformation. Economic development has been more
rapid in coastal provinces than in the interior,
and approximately 200 million rural laborers and
their dependents have relocated to urban areas to
find work. One demographic consequence of the
"one child" policy is that China is now
one of the most rapidly aging countries in the
world. Deterioration in the environment - notably
air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall
of the water table, especially in the north - is
another long-term problem. China continues to lose
arable land because of erosion and economic
development. In 2006, China announced that by 2010
it would decrease energy intensity 20% from 2005
levels. In 2009, China announced that by 2020 it
would reduce carbon intensity 40% from 2005
levels. The Chinese government seeks to add energy
production capacity from sources other than coal
and oil, and is focusing on nuclear and other
alternative energy development. In 2009, the
global economic downturn reduced foreign demand
for Chinese exports for the first time in many
years. The government vowed to continue reforming
the economy and emphasized the need to increase
domestic consumption in order to make China less
dependent on foreign exports for GDP growth in the
future.
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GDP
(purchasing power parity):
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$8.789 trillion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 3
$8.086 trillion (2008 est.)
$7.418 trillion (2007 est.)
note: data
are in 2009 US dollars
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GDP (official
exchange rate):
|
$4.814 trillion (2009 est.)
|
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GDP - real
growth rate:
|
8.7% (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 4
9% (2008 est.)
13% (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - per
capita (PPP):
|
$6,600 (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 128
$6,100 (2008 est.)
$5,700 (2007 est.)
note: data
are in 2009 US dollars
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GDP -
composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 10.6%
industry: 46.8%
services: 42.6%
(2009 est.)
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Labor force:
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813.5 million (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 1 |
|
Labor force -
by occupation:
|
agriculture: 39.5%
industry: 27.2%
services: 33.2%
(2008 est.)
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Unemployment
rate:
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4.3% (September 2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 39
4.2% (December 2008 est.)
note: official
data for urban areas only; including migrants may
boost total unemployment to 9%; substantial
unemployment and underemployment in rural areas
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Population
below poverty line:
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2.8% (2007)
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Household
income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 15%
note: data
are for urban households only (2008)
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Distribution
of family income - Gini index:
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41.5 (2007)
country
comparison to the world: 54
40 (2001)
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Investment
(gross fixed):
|
45.2% of GDP (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 3 |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $1.002
trillion
expenditures: $1.111
trillion (2009 est.)
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Public debt:
|
16.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 109
15.6% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
|
Inflation
rate (consumer prices):
|
-0.7% (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 14
6% (2008 est.)
|
|
Central bank
discount rate:
|
2.79% (31 December 2008)
country
comparison to the world: 125
3.33% (31 December 2007)
|
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Commercial bank
prime lending rate:
|
5.31% (31 December 2008)
country
comparison to the world: 142
5.58% (17 December 2007)
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|
Stock of
money:
|
$2.434 trillion (31 December
2008)
country
comparison to the world: 3
$2.09 trillion (31 December
2007)
|
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Stock of
quasi money:
|
$4.523 trillion (31 December
2008)
country
comparison to the world: 4
$3.437 trillion (31 December
2007)
|
|
Stock of
domestic credit:
|
$5.555 trillion (31 December
2008)
country
comparison to the world: 4
$4.653 trillion (31 December
2007)
|
|
Market value
of publicly traded shares:
|
$5.011 trillion (31 December
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 4
$2.794 trillion (31 December
2008)
$6.226 trillion (31 December
2007 est.)
|
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Agriculture -
products:
|
rice, wheat, potatoes, corn,
peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton,
oilseed; pork; fish
|
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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, satellites
|
|
Industrial
production growth rate:
|
9.5% (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 5 |
|
Electricity -
production:
|
3.451 trillion kWh (2008 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 2 |
|
Electricity -
consumption:
|
3.438 trillion kWh (2008 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 2 |
|
Electricity -
exports:
|
16.64 billion kWh (2008)
|
|
Electricity -
imports:
|
3.842 billion kWh (2008)
|
|
Oil -
production:
|
3.79 million bbl/day (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 4 |
|
Oil -
consumption:
|
7.999 million bbl/day (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 3 |
|
Oil - exports:
|
388,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 32 |
|
Oil - imports:
|
4.393 million bbl/day (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 4 |
|
Oil - proved
reserves:
|
15.7 billion bbl (1 January
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 14 |
|
Natural gas -
production:
|
76.1 billion cu m (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 11 |
|
Natural gas -
consumption:
|
80.7 billion cu m (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 10 |
|
Natural gas -
exports:
|
3.34 billion cu m (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 30 |
|
Natural gas -
imports:
|
4.44 billion cu m (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 34 |
|
Natural gas -
proved reserves:
|
2.46 trillion cu m (1 January
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 13 |
|
Current
account balance:
|
$297.1 billion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 1
$426.1 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
Exports:
|
$1.204 trillion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 2
$1.435 trillion (2008 est.)
|
|
Exports -
commodities:
|
electrical and other machinery,
including data processing equipment, apparel,
textiles, iron and steel, optical and medical
equipment
|
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 17.7%, Hong Kong 13.3%,
Japan 8.1%, South Korea 5.2%, Germany 4.1% (2008)
|
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Imports:
|
$954.3 billion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 4
$1.074 trillion (2008 est.)
|
|
Imports -
commodities:
|
electrical and other machinery,
oil and mineral fuels, optical and medical
equipment, metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals
|
|
Imports - partners:
|
Japan 13.3%, South Korea 9.9%,
Taiwan 9.2%, US 7.2%, Germany 4.9% (2008)
|
|
Reserves of
foreign exchange and gold:
|
$2.422 trillion (31 December
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 1
$1.953 trillion (31 December
2008 est.)
|
|
Debt -
external:
|
$347.1 billion (31 December
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 22
$400.6 billion (31 December
2008 est.)
|
|
Stock of
direct foreign investment - at home:
|
$456.3 billion (31 December
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 10
$378.1 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct
foreign investment - abroad:
|
$191.8 billion (31 December
2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world: 18
$147.9 billion (31 December
2008 est.)
|
|
Exchange
rates:
|
Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US
dollar - 6.8249 (2009), 6.9385 (2008), 7.61
(2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005)
|
Telephones
- main lines in use:
|
365.6 million (2007)
country
comparison to the world: 1 |
|
Telephones
- mobile cellular:
|
634 million (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 1 |
|
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; China continues
to develop its telecommunications
infrastructure, and is partnering with
foreign providers to expand its global
reach; China in the summer of 2008 began
a major restructuring of its
telecommunications industry, resulting
in the consolidation of its six telecom
service operators to three, China
Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom,
each providing both fixed-line and
mobile services
domestic: interprovincial
fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular
telephone systems have been installed;
mobile-cellular subscribership is
increasing rapidly; the number of
Internet users exceeded 250 million by
summer 2008; a domestic satellite system
with 55 earth stations is in place
international: country
code - 86; a number of submarine cables
provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle
East, Europe, and the US; atellite earth
stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Pacific
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean; 1 Intersputnik
- Indian Ocean region; and 1 Inmarsat -
Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2008)
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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:
|
14.156 million (2009)
country
comparison to the world: 7 |
|
Internet
users:
|
298 million (2008)
country
comparison to the world: 1
|
|
Airports:
|
482 (2009)
country
comparison to the world: 15 |
|
Airports
- with paved runways:
|
total: 425
over 3,047 m: 63
2,438 to 3,047 m: 132
1,524 to 2,437 m: 133
914 to 1,523 m: 25
under 914 m: 72
(2009)
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|
Airports
- with unpaved runways:
|
total: 57
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 26
(2009)
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|
Heliports:
|
45 (2009)
|
|
Pipelines:
|
gas 32,545 km; oil
20,097 km; refined products 10,915 km
(2009)
|
|
Railways:
|
total: 77,834
km
country
comparison to the world: 3
standard gauge: 77,084
km 1.435-m gauge (24,433 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 750
km 0.750-m gauge (2008)
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|
Roadways:
|
total: 3,583,715
km (includes 53,913 km of expressways)
(2007)
country
comparison to the world: 2 |
|
Waterways:
|
110,000 km navigable
(2008)
country
comparison to the world: 1 |
|
Merchant
marine:
|
total: 1,826
country
comparison to the world: 3
by type: barge
carrier 4, bulk carrier 451, cargo 689,
carrier 2, chemical tanker 69,
combination ore/oil 1, container 162,
liquefied gas 44, passenger 8,
passenger/cargo 83, petroleum tanker
244, refrigerated cargo 33, roll on/roll
off 10, specialized tanker 9, vehicle
carrier 17
foreign-owned: 20
(Ecuador 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 12,
Indonesia 1, Japan 2, South Korea 1,
Norway 1)
registered in other
countries: 1,441
(Bahamas 10, Bangladesh 1, Belize 71,
Bermuda 10, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 193,
Cyprus 10, France 5, Georgia 10, Germany
2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 324, India 1,
Indonesia 2, Kiribati 15, South Korea 1,
Liberia 11, Malta 12, Marshall Islands
7, Mongolia 1, Norway 36, Panama 532,
Philippines 4, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 94, Sierra Leone 15,
Singapore 14, Thailand 1, Tuvalu 16,
unknown 39) (2008)
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Ports
and terminals:
|
Dalian, Guangzhou,
Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,
Shenzhen, Tianjin
|
|
Military
branches:
|
People's Liberation
Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy
(includes marines and naval aviation),
Air Force (includes airborne forces),
and Second Artillery Corps (strategic
missile force); People's Armed Police
(PAP); PLA Reserve Force (2010)
|
|
Military
service age and obligation:
|
18-22 years of age
for selective compulsory military
service, with 24-month service
obligation; no minimum age for
voluntary service (all officers are
volunteers); 18-19 years of age for
women high school graduates who meet
requirements for specific military
jobs (2009)
|
|
Manpower
available for military service:
|
males age 16-49: 381,747,145
females age 16-49: 360,385,629
(2010 est.)
|
|
Manpower
fit for military service:
|
males age 16-49: 314,668,817
females age 16-49: 298,745,786
(2010 est.)
|
|
Manpower
reaching militarily significant age
annually:
|
male: 10,699,186
female: 9,460,217
(2010 est.)
|
|
Military
expenditures:
|
4.3% of GDP (2006)
country
comparison to the world: 23
|
|
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|
Transnational
Issues ::China |
Disputes
- international:
|
continuing talks
and confidence-building measures work
toward reducing tensions over Kashmir
that nonetheless remains militarized
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; China and
India continue their security and
foreign policy dialogue started in
2005 related to the dispute over most
of their rugged, militarized boundary,
regional nuclear proliferation, and
other matters; China claims most of
India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base
of the Himalayas; lacking any treaty
describing the boundary, Bhutan and
China continue negotiations to
establish a common boundary alignment
to resolve territorial disputes due to
cartographic discrepancies; Chinese
maps show an international boundary
symbol off the coasts of the littoral
states of the South China Seas, where
China has interrupted Vietnamese
hydrocarbon exploration; China asserts
sovereignty over Scarborough Reef
along with the Philippines and Taiwan,
and over the Spratly Islands together
with Malaysia, the Philippines,
Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brunei; the 2002
"Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea"
eased tensions in the Spratly's but is
not the legally binding "code of
conduct" sought by some parties;
Vietnam and China continue to expand
construction of facilities in the
Spratly's and 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 continue to
reject both Japan's claims to the
uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu
Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared
equidistance line in the East China
Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon
exploration and exploitation; certain
islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers
are in dispute with North Korea; North
Korea and China seek to stem illegal
migration to China by North Koreans,
fleeing privations and oppression, by
building a fence along portions of the
border and imprisoning North Koreans
deported by China; China and Russia
have demarcated the once disputed
islands at the Amur and Ussuri
confluence and in the Argun River in
accordance with their 2004 Agreement;
China and Tajikistan have begun
demarcating the revised boundary
agreed to in the delimitation of 2002;
the decade-long demarcation of the
China-Vietnam land boundary was
completed in 2009; citing
environmental, cultural, and social
concerns, China has reconsidered
construction of 13 dams on the Salween
River, but energy-starved Burma, with
backing from Thailand, remains intent
on building five hydro-electric dams
downstream despite regional and
international protests; Chinese and
Hong Kong authorities met in March
2008 to resolve ownership and use of
lands recovered in Shenzhen River
channelization, including 96-hectare
Lok Ma Chau Loop; Hong Kong developing
plans to reduce 2,000 out of 2,800
hectares of its restricted Closed Area
by 2010
|
|
Refugees
and internally displaced persons:
|
refugees (country
of origin): 300,897
(Vietnam); estimated 30,000-50,000
(North Korea)
IDPs: 90,000
(2007)
|
|
Trafficking
in persons:
|
current situation: China
is a source, transit, and destination
country for men, women, and children
trafficked for the purposes of sexual
exploitation and forced labor; the
majority of trafficking in China
occurs within the country's borders,
but there is also considerable
international trafficking of Chinese
citizens to Africa, Asia, Europe,
Latin America, the Middle East, and
North America; Chinese women are lured
abroad through false promises of
legitimate employment, only to be
forced into commercial sexual
exploitation, largely in Taiwan,
Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan; women
and children are trafficked to China
from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea,
Russia, and Vietnam for forced labor,
marriage, and prostitution; some North
Korean women and children seeking to
leave their country voluntarily cross
the border into China and are then
sold into prostitution, marriage, or
forced labor
tier rating: Tier
2 Watch List - China is on the Tier 2
Watch List for the fourth consecutive
year for its failure to provide
evidence of increasing efforts to
combat human trafficking, particularly
in terms of punishment of trafficking
crimes and the protection of Chinese
and foreign victims of trafficking;
victims are sometimes punished for
unlawful acts that were committed as a
direct result of their being
trafficked, such as violations of
prostitution or immigration/emigration
controls; the Chinese Government
continued to treat North Korean
victims of trafficking solely as
economic migrants, routinely deporting
them back to horrendous conditions in
North Korea; additional challenges
facing the Chinese Government include
the enormous size of its trafficking
problem and the significant level of
corruption and complicity in
trafficking by some local government
officials (2008)
|
|
Illicit
drugs:
|
major transshipment
point for heroin produced in the
Golden Triangle region of Southeast
Asia; growing domestic consumption of
synthetic drugs, and heroin from
Southeast and Southwest Asia; source
country for methamphetamine and heroin
chemical precursors, despite new
regulations on its large chemical
industry (2008)
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