China at a Glance

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
capital: Beijing

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)

Government type

Communist state

Executive branch

Chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President XI Jinping (since 2008)
Head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003)
Executive Vice Premier LI Keqiang (since 2008),
Vice Premiers WANG Qishan (since 2008), ZHANG Dejiang (since 2008), 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 a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held in mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress

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; (see note on Taiwan)
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

Geography

Area:
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km

Population

1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)

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, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
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)

Economy

Current account balance: $179.1 billion (2006 est.)
Exports: $974 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel
Exports - partners:
US 21.4%, Hong Kong 16.3%, Japan 11%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.3% (2005)
Imports: $777.9 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, iron and steel
Imports - partners:
Japan 15.2%, South Korea 11.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 7.4%, Germany 4.6% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.034 trillion (2006 est.)
Debt - external: $305.6 billion (2006 est.)
Currency (code): yuan (CNY); note - also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
Exchange rates: yuan per US dollar - 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002)

GDP (purchasing power parity):  $10 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $2.512 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 10.5% (official data) (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (purchasing power parity): $7,600 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 48.1%
services: 40%
note: industry includes construction (2006 est.)
Labor force:
798 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 24%
services: 31% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):1.5% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 44.3% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $446.6 billion
expenditures: $489.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt: 22.1% of GDP (2006 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, satellites
Industrial production growth rate: 22.9% (2006 est.)

Source: CIA World Fact Book