standard gauge; 600 km 1.000-meter gauge; all single track except 11,200 km double track on standard-gauge lines; 6,500 km electrified; 10,000 km industrial lines (gauges range from 0.762 to 1.067 meters)
_#_Highways: about 980,000 km all types roads; 162,000 km paved roads, 617,200 km gravel/improved earth roads, 200,800 km unimproved natural earth roads and tracks
_#_Inland waterways: 138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable
_#_Pipelines: crude, 6,500 km; refined products, 1,100 km; natural gas, 6,200 km
_#_Ports: Dalian, Guangzhou, Huangpu, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Xingang, Zhanjiang, Ningbo, Xiamen, Tanggu, Shantou
_#_Merchant marine: 1,421 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,010,317 GRT/21,223,170 DWT; includes 24 passenger, 42 short-sea passenger, 19 passenger-cargo, 7 cargo/training, 776 cargo, 11 refrigerated cargo, 70 container, 17 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 multifunction barge carrier, 181 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 chemical tanker, 250 bulk, 2 liquefied gas, 2 vehicle carrier, 9 combination bulk; note—China beneficially owns an additional 183 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 5,921,000 DWT that operate under Maltese and Liberian registry
_#_Airports: 330 total, 330 usable; 260 with permanent-surface runways; fewer than 10 with runways over 3,500 m; 90 with runways 2,440–3,659 m; 200 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed internal system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships; 11,000,000 telephones (December 1989); stations—274 AM, unknown FM, 202 (2,050 relays) TV; more than 215 million radio receivers; 75 million TVs; satellite earth stations—4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT, and 55 domestic
_*Defense Forces #_Branches: Chinese People's Liberation Army (CPLA), CPLA Navy (including Marines), CPLA Air Force, Chinese People's Armed Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15–49, 335,382,062; 187,046,680 fit for military service; 10,967,622 reach military age (18) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GNP % @Christmas Island (territory of Australia) *Geography #_Total area: 135 km2; land area: 135 km2
_#_Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 138.9 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
_#_Terrain: steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
_#_Natural resources: phosphate
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 100%
_#_Environment: almost completely surrounded by a reef
_#_Note: located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
_*People #_Population: 2,278 (July 1991), growth rate NA% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Christmas Islander(s), adjective—Christmas Island
_#_Ethnic divisions: Chinese 61%, Malay 25%, European 11%, other 3%; no indigenous population
_#_Religion: Buddhist 36.1%, Muslim 25.4%, Christian 17.7% (Roman Catholic 8.2%, Church of England 3.2%, Presbyterian 0.9%, Uniting Church 0.4%, Methodist 0.2%, Baptist 0.1%, and other 4.7%), none 12.7%, unknown 4.6%, other 3.5% (1981)
_#_Language: English
_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
_#_Labor force: NA; all workers are employees of the Phosphate Mining Company of Christmas Island, Ltd.
_#_Organized labor: NA
_*Government #_Long-form name: Territory of Christmas Island
_#_Type: territory of Australia
_#_Capital: The Settlement
_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
_#_Independence: none (territory of Australia)
_#_Constitution: Christmas Island Act of 1958
_#_Legal system: under the authority of the governor general of Australia
_#_National holiday: NA
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general of Australia, administrator, Advisory Council (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: none
_#_Judicial branch: none
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government—Administrator AD TAYLOR (since NA)
_#_Communists: none
_#_Member of: none
_#_Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
_#_Flag: the flag of Australia is used
_*Economy #_Overview: Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine as no longer economically viable. Plans have been under way to reopen the mine and also to build a casino and hotel to develop tourism, with a possible opening date during the first half of 1992.
_#_GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
_#_Unemployment rate: 0%
_#_Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
_#_Exports: $NA;
commodities—phosphate;
partners—Australia, NZ
_#_Imports: $NA;
commodities—NA;
