1999 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1999 (Internet Archive)
Introduction
Background
For most of its 3,500 years of history, China led the world in agriculture, crafts, and science, then fell behind in the 19th century when the Industrial Revolution gave the West clear superiority in military and economic affairs. In the first half of the 20th century, China continued to suffer from major famines, civil unrest, military defeat, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's autonomy, imposed strict controls over all aspects of life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping decentralized economic decision making; output quadrupled in the next 20 years. Political controls remain tight at the same time economic controls have been weakening. Present issues are: incorporating Hong Kong into the Chinese system; closing down inefficient state-owned enterprises; modernizing the military; fighting corruption; and providing support to tens of millions of displaced workers.
Geography
Area
total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km
Area--comparative
slightly smaller than the US
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Coastline
14,500 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
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, 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: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban
Geographic coordinates
35 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography--note
world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US)
Irrigated land
498,720 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
total: 22,143.34 km border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Land use
arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 14% other: 33% (1993 est.)
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Map references
Asia
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural hazards
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts
Natural resources
coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Terrain
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 26% (male 169,206,275; female 149,115,216) 15-64 years: 68% (male 435,047,915; female 408,663,265) 65 years and over: 6% (male 39,824,361; female 45,014,919) (1999 est.)
Birth rate
15.1 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate
6.98 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Infant mortality rate
43.31 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 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 divisions entry)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 69.92 years male: 68.57 years female: 71.48 years (1999 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 81.5% male: 89.9% female: 72.7% (1995 est.)
Nationality
noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese
Net migration rate
-0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Population
1,246,871,951 (July 1999 est.)
Population growth rate
0.77% (1999 est.)
Religions
Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.) note: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entry for the special administrative region of Hong Kong
Capital
Beijing
Constitution
most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
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
Data code
CH
Executive branch
chief of state: President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) and Vice President HU Jintao (since 16 March 1998) head of government: Premier ZHU Rongji (since 18 March 1998); Vice Premiers QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and WEN Jiabao (since 18 March 1998) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 16-18 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: JIANG Zemin reelected president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,882 votes (36 delegates voted against him, 29 abstained, and 32 did not vote); HU Jintao elected vice president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,841 votes (67 delegates voted against him, 39 abstained, and 32 did not vote)
Flag description
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
Government type
Communist state
Independence
221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949)
International organization participation
AfDB, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMSIL, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador LI Zhaoxing chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James R. SASSER embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang
Judicial branch
Supreme People's Court, judges appointed by the National People's Congress Political parties and leaders: Chinese Communist Party or CCP registered small parties controlled by CCP Political pressure groups and leaders: no meaningful political opposition groups exist
Legal system
a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
Legislative branch
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,979 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms) elections: last held NA December-NA February 1998 (next to be held late 2002-NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote--NA; seats--NA
National holiday
National Day, 1 October (1949)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture--products
rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish
Budget
revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao
Debt--external
$159 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient
$6.222 billion (1995)
Economy--overview
Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to move the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the authorities switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and industry also posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. In late 1993 China's leadership approved additional long-term reforms aimed at giving still more play to market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over the financial system; state enterprises would continue to dominate many key industries in what was now termed "a socialist market economy". In 1995-97 inflation dropped sharply, reflecting tighter monetary policies and stronger measures to control food prices. At the same time, the government struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, most of which had not participated in the vigorous expansion of the economy and many of which had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 60 to 100 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to continued rapid economic growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. The next few years may witness increasing tensions between a highly centralized political system and an increasingly decentralized economic system. Economic growth probably will slow to more moderate levels in 1999-2000.
Electricity--consumption
994.921 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports
6.025 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports
755 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--production
1.16 trillion kWh (1998)
Electricity--production by source
fossil fuel: 93% hydro: 6% nuclear: 1% other: 0% (1996 est.)
Exchange rates
yuan (Y) per US$1--8.28 (February 1999), 8.2779 (December 1998), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997), 8.3142 (1996), 8.3514 (1995), 8.6187 (1994) note: beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint rate against the US dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market
Exports
$183.8 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports--commodities
electrical machinery and equipment, machinery and mechanical appliances, woven apparel, knit apparel, footwear, toys and sporting goods (1998)
Exports--partners
Hong Kong 21%, US 21%, Japan 14%, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, UK, Singapore, Taiwan (1997)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power parity--$4.42 trillion (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector
agriculture: 19% industry: 49% services: 32% (1997 est.)
GDP--per capita
purchasing power parity?$3,600 (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate
7.8% (1998 est.) (official figures may substantially overstate growth)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.9% (1995)
Imports
$140.17 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports--commodities
electrical machinery and equipment, machinery and mechanical appliances, plastics, iron and steel, scientific and photograph equipment, paper and paper board (1998)
Imports--partners
Japan 20%, US 12%, Taiwan 12%, South Korea 11%, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia (1997)
Industrial production growth rate
8.8% (1998 est.)
Industries
iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, autos, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
-0.8% (1998 est.)
Labor force
696 million (1997 est.)
Labor force--by occupation
agriculture 50%, industry 24%, services 26% (1997)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Unemployment rate
officially 3% in urban areas; probably 8%-10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (1998 est.)
Communications
Radio broadcast stations
AM 569, FM NA, shortwave 173
Radios
216.5 million (1992 est.)
Telephone system
domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and all townships domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: satellite earth stations--5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany
Telephones
105 million (1998 est.)
Television broadcast stations
209 (China Central Television, government-owned; in addition there are 31 provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 city TV stations) (1997)
Televisions
300 million
Transportation
Airports
206 (1996 est.) Airports--with paved runways: total: 192 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 65 1,524 to 2,437 m: 90 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 6 (1996 est.) Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (1996 est.)
Highways
total: 1.21 million km paved: 271,300 km (with at least 24,474 km of motorways) unpaved: 938,700 km (1998 est.)
Merchant marine
total: 1,759 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,828,349 GRT/24,801,291 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 330, cargo 855, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 121, liquefied gas tanker 20, multifunction large-load carrier 6, oil tanker 245, passenger 8, passenger-cargo 47, refrigerated cargo 25, roll-on/roll-off cargo 24, short-sea passenger 43, vehicle carrier 1 (1998 est.)
Pipelines
crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998) Ports and harbors: Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang
Railways
total: 64,900 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails) standard gauge: 61,300 km 1.435-m gauge (12,000 km electrified; 20,000 km double track) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.) note: a new total of 68,000 km has been estimated for early 1999
Waterways
109,800 km navigable (1997)
Military and Security
Military branches
People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in wartime)
Military expenditures--dollar figure
$12.608 billion (FY99); note-Western analysts believe that China's real defense spending is several times higher than the official figure because several significant items are funded elsewhere
Military expenditures--percent of GDP
NA%
Military manpower--availability
males age 15-49: 361,267,706 (1999 est.) Military manpower--fit for military service: males age 15-49: 198,398,601 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--military age
18 years of age
Military manpower--reaching military age annually
males: 10,273,696 (1999 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international
boundary with India in dispute; dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; most of the boundary with Tajikistan in dispute; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan; sections of land border with Vietnam are indefinite
Illicit drugs
major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem