China

ChinaAlso see separate Taiwan entry

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 22,143.34 km, 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 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

Coastline

14,500 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Bou.htm with India in dispute; disputed sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled; boundary with Tajikistan in dispute; a short section of the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan

Climate

Extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain

Mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

478,220 sq km (1991 - Chinese data)

Environment

Note: World's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada)

PEOPLE

Population

1,210,004,956 (July 1996 est.)
1,203,097,268 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

26% (male 167,448,148; female 151,601,650)
26% (male 167,234,782; female 151,266,866)

15-64 Years

67% (male 421,455,418; female 393,913,510)
67% (male 419,103,994; female 391,917,572)

65 Years and Over

7% (male 35,056,409; female 40,529,821) (July 1996 est.)
7% (male 33,982,362; female 39,591,692) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.98% (1996 est.)
1.04% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

17.01 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
17.78 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

6.92 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
7.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

39.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
52.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.84 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Note: Officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic

Languages

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

583.6 million (1991)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Abbreviation

PRC

Digraph

CH

Type

Communist state

Capital

Beijing

Administrative Divisions

23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, 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

Independence

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)

National Holiday

National Day, 1 October (1949)

Constitution

Most recent promulgated 4 December 1982

Legal System

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

National People's Congress

(Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui) elections last held March 1993 (next to be held March 1998); results - CCP is the only party but there are also independents; seats - (2,977 total) (elected at county or xian level)

Judicial Branch

Supreme People's Court, judges appointed by the National People's Congress

Political Parties and Leaders

Chinese Communist Party (CCP), JIANG Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee (since 24 June 1989); eight registered small parties controlled by CCP

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Such meaningful opposition as exists consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government organization, that vary by issue

Member of

AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), Mekong Group, MINURSO, NAM (observer), PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMIL, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

National Anthem

Flag

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

Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to move the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to one that is more market-oriented, but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the authorities switched to a system of household 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 enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a strong surge in production. Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and industry also posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment and modern production methods helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. GDP has more than tripled since 1978. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. In 1992-95 annual growth of GDP accelerated, particularly in the coastal areas - averaging more than 10% annually according to official figures. In late 1993 China's leadership approved additional long-term reforms aimed at giving still more play to market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over the financial system; state enterprises would continue to dominate many key industries in what was now termed "a socialist market economy." In 1995 inflation dropped sharply, reflecting tighter monetary policies and stronger measures to control food prices. At the same time, the government struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce extortion and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, most of which had not participated in the vigorous expansion of the economy. From 60 to 100 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-pay 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 the nation's long-term economic viability. One of the most dangerous long-term threats to continued rapid economic growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. The amount of arable land continues to decline because of erosion and economic development, the cumulative loss since the Communist takeover in 1949 being more than 15%. The next few years will witness increasing tensions between a highly centralized political system and an increasingly decentralized economic system.

National Product

GDP purchasing power parity
$3.5 trillion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate with use of official Chinese growth figures for 1993-95; the result may overstate China's GDP by as much as 25%)
$2.9788 trillion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992 by use of official Chinese growth statistics for 1993-94; because of the difficulties with official statistics in this time of rapid change, the result may overstate China's GDP by as much as 25%)

National Product Real Growth Rate

10.3% (1995 est.)
11.8% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$2,900 (1995 est.)
$2,500 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

10.1% (December 1995 over December 1994)
25.5% (December 1994 over December 1993)

Unemployment Rate

5.2% in urban areas (1995 est.); substantial underemployment
2.7% in urban areas (1994); substantial underemployment

Budget

Deficit $13.7 billion (1994)

Exports

$148.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$121 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$132.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$115.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$92 billion (1994 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 13.4% (1995 est.), 17.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 19% of GDP; among the world's largest producers of rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork; commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds; produces variety of livestock products; basically self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 13.35 million metric tons (including fresh water and pond raised) (1991)

Illicit Drugs

Illicit producer of opium; bulk of production is in Yunnan Province (which produced 25 metric tons in 1994); transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle

Economic Aid

Currency

1 yuan (¥) = 10 jiao

Exchange Rates

Yuan (Y) per US$1 - 8.3186 (January 1996), 8.3514 (1995), 8.6187 (1994), 5.7620 (1993), 5.5146 (1992), 5.3234 (1991), 4.7832 (1990)

Note: Beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint rate against the U.S. dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable

Pipelines

Crude oil 9,700 km; petroleum products 1,100 km; natural gas 6,200 km (1990)

Ports

Aihui, Changsha, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Huangpu, Nanning, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Tanggu, Xiamen, Xingang, Zhanjiang

Merchant Marine

Note: China owns an additional 267 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,044,039 DWT operating under the registries of Panama, Hong Kong, Malta, Liberia, Vanuatu, Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas, and Singapore (1995 est.)

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

20 million telephones (1994 est.); domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in wartime)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 352,506,948; males fit for military service 194,589,216; males reach military age (18) annually 9,763,916 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

The officially announced but suspect figure is 70.2 billion yuan, NA% of GDP (1995 est.); note - conversion of the defense budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

History
World Atlas