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, 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:
1,306,313,812 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 21.4% (male 148,134,928/female 131,045,415)
15–64 years: 71% (male 477,182,072/female 450,664,933)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 47,400,282/female 51,886,182) (2005
est.)
Median age:
total: 32.26 years
male: 31.87 years
female: 32.67 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.58% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
13.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
6.94 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
−0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 24.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 27.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.27 years
male: 70.65 years
female: 74.09 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
840,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
44,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
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, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
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)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2002)
Government China
Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhong Guo
abbreviation: PRC
Government type:
Communist state
Capital:
Beijing
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
: autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang
(Tibet)
: municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin
