2002 Edition
CIA World Factbook 2002 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Background
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making, and output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to be relaxed.
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
Coastline
14,500 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geographic coordinates
35 00 N, 105 00 E
Irrigated land
525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Land boundaries
total: 22,147.34 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 4,677 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: 13% permanent crops: 1% other: 86% (1998 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
200 NM continental shelf: Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Natural hazards
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
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
24.3% (male 163,821,081; female 148,855,387) 15-64 years: (male 43,834,528; female 49,382,568) (2002 est.)
Birth rate
15.85 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate
6.77 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
less than 0.2% (2000-01 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
17,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
1.25 million (January 2001)
Infant mortality rate
27.25 deaths/1,000 live births (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)
Life expectancy at birth
73.86 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (2002 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
-0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Population
1,284,303,705 (July 2002 est.)
Population growth rate
0.87% (2002 est.)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 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 entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Capital
Beijing
Constitution
most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Country name
conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr. embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3431 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6422 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Executive branch
chief of state: President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) and Vice President HU Jintao (since 16 March 1998) 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 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) 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, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CCC, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Judicial branch
Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
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 1997-NA February 1998 (next to be held late 2002-NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA
National holiday
Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Political parties and leaders
Chinese Communist Party or CCP [JIANG Zemin, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders
no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture - products
rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish
Budget
revenues: $161.8 billion expenditures: $191.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)
Currency
yuan (CNY)
Currency code
CNY
Debt - external
$167 billion (2001 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
40 (2001)
Economic aid - recipient
$NA
Economy - overview
In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities have switched to a system of household and village 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. In 2001, with its 1.27 billion people but a GDP of just $4,300 per capita, China stood as the second largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has 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 and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has 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 many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 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 long-term 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. Beijing will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Access to the World Trade Organization strengthens China's ability to maintain sturdy growth rates, and at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Although Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, many observers believe the rate, while strong, is more like 5%.
Electricity - consumption
1.206 trillion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports
10.25 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports
400 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production
1.308 trillion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 81.83% hydro: 16.83% other: 0.12% (2000) nuclear: 1.22%
Exchange rates
yuan per US dollar - 8.2767 (January 2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997)
Exports
$262.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels
Exports - partners
US 21%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 17%, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Singapore, Taiwan (2000)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power parity - $5.56 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 17.7% industry: 49.3% services: 33% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
7.3% (official estimate) (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
Imports
$236.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals
Imports - partners
Japan 18%, Taiwan 11%, South Korea 10%, US 10% Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia (2000)
Industrial production growth rate
9.9% (2001 est.)
Industries
iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
0.8% (2001 est.)
Labor force
706 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture 50%, industry 23%, services 27% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line
10% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate
urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2001 est.)
Communications
Internet country code
.cn
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
3 (2000)
Internet users
26.5 million (2001)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios
417 million (1997)
Telephone system
general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns domestic: 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 (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use
135 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular
65 million (January 2001)
Television broadcast stations
3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Televisions
400 million (1997)
Transportation
Airports
489 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways
88 1,524 to 2,437 m: Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 165 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 29 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 78 (2001)
Highways
total: 1.4 million km paved: 271,300 km (with at least 16,000 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,128,700 km (1999)
Merchant marine
total: 1,764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,915,047 GRT/25,366,296 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 328, cargo 822, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 134, liquefied gas 26, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 45, petroleum tanker 263, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 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, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)
Railways
total: 67,524 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails) standard gauge: 63,924 km 1.435-m gauge (13,362 km electrified; 20,250 km double-track) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m and 1.000-m gauge local industrial lines (1999 est.)
Waterways
110,000 km (1999)
Military and Security
Military branches
People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia
Military expenditures - dollar figure
$20.048 billion (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending more likely ranges from $45 billion to $65 billion for 2002
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.6% (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending is more likely between 3.5% to 5.0% of GDP for 2002
Military manpower - availability
males age 15-49: 370,087,489 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service
males age 15-49: 203,003,036 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age
18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually
males: 10,089,458 (2002 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
in 2000, China joined ASEAN discussions towards creating a South China Sea "code of conduct" - a non-legally binding, confidence-building measure; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but talks to resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001; ongoing talks with Tajikistan have failed to resolve the longstanding dispute over the indefinite boundary; Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation commits Russia and China to seek peaceable unanimity over disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan; demarcation of the land boundary with Vietnam has commenced, but details of the alignment have not been made public; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite
Illicit drugs
major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine This page was last updated on 1 January 2002 Chile