83.87% (2005)
Irrigated land:
545,960 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
2,829.6 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 549.76 cu km/yr (7%/26%/68%)
per capita: 415 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or P'aektu-san), Hainan Dao, and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries
Environment - current issues:
air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; 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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak
People ::China
Population:
1,330,141,295 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Age structure:
0–14 years: 19.8% (male 140,877,745/female 124,290,090)
15–64 years: 72.1% (male 495,724,889/female 469,182,087)
65 years and over: 8.1% (male 51,774,115/female 56,764,042) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 35.2 years
male: 34.5 years
female: 35.8 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.494% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 153
Birth rate:
12.17 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 164
Death rate:
6.89 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 142
Net migration rate:
−0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 135
Urbanization:
urban population: 43% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.7% annual rate of change (2005–10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.17 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 16.51 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 114 male: 15.84 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.51 years country comparison to the world: 93 male: 72.54 years
female: 76.77 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.54 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 182
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 115
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
700,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 17
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
39,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 15
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever
soil contact disease: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups:
Han Chinese 91.5%, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uighur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities 8.5% (2000 census)
Religions:
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Languages:
