China Profile

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 20thcenturies, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines,military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, theCommunists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist systemthat, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls overeveryday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After1978, 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 dramaticallyand the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controlsremain tight.

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam. China is sightly smaller than the US.

People

Population: 1,330,044,605 (July 2008 est.)

Median Age: 33.6 years

Birth Rate: 13.71 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 13.71 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Life Expectancy: 73.18 years

Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uyghur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Religion: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)

Language: 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)

Government

Government Type: Communist state

Capital: Communist state

Provinces: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions(zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular andplural)
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

National Holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)

Flag Description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellowfive-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of theflag) in the upper hoist-side corner.

Economy

China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from acentrally planned system that was largely closed to international tradeto a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing privatesector and is a major player in the global economy. Reforms started inthe late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivized agriculture, andexpanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscaldecentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, thefoundation of a diversified banking system, the development of stockmarkets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector, and the opening toforeign trade and investment.

Populatiom Below the Poverty Line: 8% note: 21.5 million rural populationlive below the official "absolute poverty" line (approximately $90 peryear); and an additional 35.5 million rural population above that but below the official "low income" line (approximately $125 per year)(2006 est.

Communications

Telephone Lines: 368 million (2006)

Cell Phones: 461.1 million (2006)

Internet Users: 162 million (2007)

Television Stations: 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 areprovincial TV stations, and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)

Radio Stations: AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)