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, MAO's 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. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.

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

35 00 N, 105 00 E

Asia

slightly smaller than the US

14,500 km

extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land

arable land 11.3%; permanent crops 1.6%; permanent pasture 41.8%

629,380 sq km (2006)

2,840 cu km (2011)

frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence

air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; China is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; 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

world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak

Han Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai and other nationalities) 7.1%

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; 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)

Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, folk religion 21.9%, Hindu < .1%, Jewish < .1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.2%

1,367,485,388 (July 2015 est.)

0.45% (2015 est.)

12.49 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

-0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Shanghai 23.741 million; BEIJING (capital) 20.384 million; Chongqing 13.332 million; Guangdong 12.458 million; Tianjin 11.21 million; Shenzhen 10.749 million (2015)

1.6 children born/woman (2015 est.)

84.6% (2006)

5.6% of GDP (2013)

1.49 physicians/1,000 population (2011)

3.8 beds/1,000 population (2011)

urban: 97.5% of population

rural: 93% of population

total: 95.5% of population

urban: 2.5% of population

rural: 7% of population

total: 4.5% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 86.6% of population

rural: 63.7% of population

total: 76.5% of population

urban: 13.4% of population

rural: 36.3% of population

total: 23.5% of population (2015 est.)

0.1% (2012 est.)

780,000 (2012 est.)

NA

7.3% (2014)

3.4% (2010)

NA

Communist state

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

1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)

National Day, the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)

several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982; amended several times, last in 2004 (2015)

civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; note - criminal procedure law revised in early 2012

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Chinese Communist Party or CCP [XI Jinping]

no substantial political opposition groups exist

ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-5, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNSC (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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

dragon; national colors: red, yellow

Since the late 1970s China has moved from a closed, centrally planned system to a more market-oriented one that plays a major global role - in 2010 China became the world's largest exporter. Reforms began with the phasing out of collectivized agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, growth of the private sector, development of stock markets and a modern banking system, and opening to foreign trade and investment. China has implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion. In recent years, China has renewed its support for state-owned enterprises in sectors considered important to "economic security," explicitly looking to foster globally competitive industries. 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 2014 stood as the largest economy in the world, surpassing the US for the first time in modern history. Still, China's per capita income is below the world average.

After keeping its currency tightly linked to the US dollar for years, in July 2005 China moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. From mid 2005 to late 2008 cumulative appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar was more than 20%, but the exchange rate remained virtually pegged to the dollar from the onset of the global financial crisis until June 2010, when Beijing allowed resumption of a gradual appreciation. In 2014 the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) doubled the daily trading band within which the RMB is permitted to fluctuate.

The Chinese government faces numerous economic challenges, including: (a) reducing its high domestic savings rate and correspondingly low domestic consumption; (b) facilitating higher-wage job opportunities for the aspiring middle class, including rural migrants and increasing numbers of college graduates; (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 progressed further in coastal provinces than in the interior, and by 2014 more than 274 million migrant workers and their dependents had relocated to urban areas to find work. One consequence of population control 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. The Chinese government is seeking to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil, focusing on nuclear and alternative energy development.

Several factors are converging to slow China's growth, including debt overhang from its credit-fueled stimulus program, industrial overcapacity, inefficient allocation of capital by state-owned banks, and the slow recovery of China's trading partners. The government's 12th Five-Year Plan, adopted in March 2011 and reiterated at the Communist Party's "Third Plenum" meeting in November 2013, emphasizes continued economic reforms and the need to increase domestic consumption in order to make the economy less dependent in the future on fixed investments, exports, and heavy industry. However, China has made only marginal progress toward these rebalancing goals. The new government of President XI Jinping has signaled a greater willingness to undertake reforms that focus on China's long-term economic health, including giving the market a more decisive role in allocating resources. In 2014 China agreed to begin limiting carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. China also implemented several economic reforms in 2014, including passing legislation to allow local governments to issue bonds, opening several state-owned enterprises to further private investment, loosening the one-child policy, passing harsher pollution fines, and cutting administrative red tape.

$17.62 trillion (2014 est.)

$16.41 trillion (2013 est.)

$15.23 trillion (2012 est.)

$10.38 trillion

7.4% (2014 est.)

7.8% (2013 est.)

7.8% (2012 est.)

$12,900 (2014 est.)

$12,000 (2013 est.)

$11,100 (2012 est.)

48.9% of GDP (2014 est.)

49.7% of GDP (2013 est.)

50.3% of GDP (2012 est.)

(2014 est.)

(2014 est.)

world leader in gross value of agricultural output; rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish

world leader in gross value of industrial output; 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, aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites

7% (2014 est.)

801.6 million

(2012 est.)

4.1% (2014 est.)

4.1% (2013 est.)

6.1%

(2013 est.)

46.9 (2014 est.)

47.3 (2013 est.)

22.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

-1.8% of GDP (2014 est.)

15.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

15.3% of GDP (2013 est.)

calendar year

2% (2014 est.)

2.6% (2013 est.)

2.25% (31 December 2014 est.)

2.25% (31 December 2013 est.)

5.6% (31 December 2014 est.)

6% (31 December 2013 est.)

$5.667 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$5.528 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$20 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$18.13 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$13.3 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$15.19 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$6.065 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.499 trillion (31 December 2013)

$5.753 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)

$219.7 billion (2014 est.)

$182.8 billion (2013 est.)

$2.343 trillion (2014 est.)

$2.209 trillion (2013 est.)

electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, furniture, textiles, integrated circuits

US 16.9%, Hong Kong 15.5%, Japan 6.4%, South Korea 4.3% (2014 est.)

$1.96 trillion (2014 est.)

$1.95 trillion (2013 est.)

electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels; nuclear reactor, boiler, and machinery components; optical and medical equipment, metal ores, motor vehicles; soybeans

South Korea 9.7%, Japan 8.3%, US 8.1%, Taiwan 7.8%, Germany 5.4%, Australia 5% (2014 est.)

$3.899 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$3.88 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$894.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$863.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$1.287 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$956.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$646.3 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$613.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar -

6.1428 (2014 est.)

6.1958 (2013 est.)

6.31 (2012 est.)

6.4615 (2011 est.)

6.7703 (2010 est.)

5.65 trillion kWh (2014)

5.523 trillion kWh (2014)

18.16 billion kWh (2014)

6.75 billion kWh (2014)

1.505 billion kW (2014 est.)

67.3% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)

1.5% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)

22.2% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)

9% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)

4.202 million bbl/day (2014 est.)

12,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

6.167 million bbl/day (2014 est.)

18.1 billion bbl (1 January 2014 est.)

9.648 million bbl/day (2013 est.)

10.76 million bbl/day (2013 est.)

593,400 bbl/day (2014 est.)

600,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

130.2 billion cu m (2014 est.)

181.8 billion cu m (2014 est.)

2.647 billion cu m (2014 est.)

58 billion cu m (2014 est.)

3.3 trillion cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

10 billion Mt (2013 est.)

all broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV, provincial, and municipal stations offer more than 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department lists subjects that are off limits to domestic broadcast media with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast

AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)

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)

.cn

507 (2013)

18 (2013)

47 (2013)

condensate 9 km; gas 48,502 km; oil 23,072 km; oil/gas/water 31 km; refined products 15,298 km; water 9 km (2013)

110,000 km (navigable waterways) (2011)

People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (PLAN; includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun Kongjun, PLAAF; includes Airborne Forces), and Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (Renmin Wuzhuang Jingcha Budui, PAP); PLA Reserve Force (2012)

18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year 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; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles; the first class of women warship commanders was in 2011 (2012)

1.99% of GDP (2012)

2% of GDP (2011)

1.99% of GDP (2010)

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 arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lie in Bhutan's northwest and along the Chumbi salient; Burmese forces attempting to dig in to the largely autonomous Shan State to rout local militias tied to the drug trade, prompts local residents to periodically flee into neighboring Yunnan Province in China; 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 Spratlys but is not the legally binding code of conduct sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratlys 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; the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan; 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

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; more people believed to be convicted and executed for drug offences than anywhere else in the world, according to NGOs (2008)