Official Name: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo (People’s Republic of China).
Currency: Renminbi (yuan).
Current Exchange Rate: |
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Hemisphere: Northern
Continent: Asia
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering Mongolia, Russia, North Korea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
Area: 3,696,100 sq mi, 9,572,900 sq km
Form of Government: single party people’s republic with one legislative house (National People’s Congress [2,980]
Population: (2007) 1,317,925,000
Population Density: (2007) persons per sq mi 356.6, persons per sq km 137.7
Principal Language(s): Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua based on Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbel (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages.
Religions: Officially atheist, Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3% - 4%, Muslim 1% - 2%.
Capital: Beijing
Capital Population: (2005) Beijing 10,717,000
Capital Average Temperature: 11.8 degrees Celsius, 53.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Major Cities: agglomerations (2005): Shanghai 14,503,000; Beijing 10,717,000; Guangzhou 8,425,000; Shenzhen 7,233,000; Wuhan 7,093,000; Tianjin 7,040,000; Dongguan 4,320,000; Chengdu 4,065,000; Xi’an 3,926,000; Harbin 3,695,000; Nanjing 3,621,000; Guiyang 3,447,000; Dalian 3,073,000; Changchun 3,046,000; Zibo 2,982,000; Kunming 2,837,000; Hangzhou 2,831,000; Qingdao 2,817,000; Taiyuan 2,794,000; Jinan 2,743,000; Zhengzhou 2,590,000; Fuzhou 2,453,000; Changsha 2,451,000; Lanzhou 2,411,000.
Topography: Two-thirds of the vast territory is mountainous or desert; only one- tenth is cultivated. Rolling topography rises to high elevations in the N in the Daxinganlingshanmal separating Manchuria and Mongolia; the Tien Shan in Xinjiang, the Himalayan and Kunlunshanmai in the SW and in Tibet. Length is 1,860 mi from N to S, width E to W is more than 2,000 mi. The eastern half of China is one of the world’s best-watered lands. Three great river systems, the Chang (Yangtze), Huang (Yellow), and Xi, provide water for vast farmlands.
Economy: (2007 est.) $7.04 trillion
G.D.P. per Capita: (2007 est.) $5,300
Vital Statistics: Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 12.1 Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 6.8 Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (2006): 5.3 Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 1.72 Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 70.9 years; female 74.3 years.
Government Website: www.english.gov.cn
Reference Sources: The World Almanac 2009, The New York Times Almanac 2009, Time Almanac 2009, World Climate website.
