Country Profile of China

Country Profile of China
Country Profile by Sabrina Su
Physical Geography
1. Official Name: People's Republic of China
2. Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
3. Map
1. Absolute location: 35 00 N, 105 00 E
2. Relative location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Political Geography
1. Type of government: Communist state
2. Capital: Beijing
3. International Organization participation: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, APT, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UN Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
4. Size of armed forces:
Cultural Geography
1. Official language: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
2. Ethnic group: Han Chinese 91.5%, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities 8.5% (2000 census)
3. major religions: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
4. Population: 1,338,612,968 (July 2009 est.)
5. Population growth rate: 0.655% (2009 est.)
6. Population distribution: 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) (2009 est.)
7. Major cities: Beijing (Capital of China), Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin, Guangdong
8. Infant mortality rate: 20.25 deaths/1,000 live births
9. Average life expectancy: male:71.61 years, female: 75.52 years (2009 est.)
10. Teachers and doctors per population:
Economic Geography1 . GNP (Gross National Product) : 2. GDP (Gross Domestic Product): $4.327 trillion (2008 est.)
3. Percent of arable land used for agriculture:
4. Natural resources: natural gas, oil
5. Major agricultural products: rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish.
6. Industrial products: mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products, including footwear, toys, and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites
7. Major exports: electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textiles, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment.
8. Imports: electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels, optical and medical equipment, metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals
9. Currency: Renminbi yuan (RMB) per Taiwan Dollar- 4.74247 (2009 est.)
10. Balance of trade: Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 6.9385 (2008 est.)
11. Historical events:
1986-90 - China's "Open-door policy" opens the country to foreign investment and encourages development of a market economy and private sector.
1989 - Troops open fire on demonstrators who have camped for weeks in Tiananmen Square initially to demand the posthumous rehabilitation of former CCP General Secretary Hu Yaobang, who was forced to resign in 1987. The official death toll is 200. International outrage leads to sanctions.
1989 - Jiang Zemin takes over as Chinese Communist Party general secretary from Zhao Ziyang, who refused to support martial law during the Tiananmen demonstrations.
Stockmarkets open in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
1992 - Russia and China sign declaration restoring friendly ties.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks China's economy as third largest in the world after the US and Japan.
1997 - Deng Xiaoping dies, aged 92. Rioting erupts in Yining, Xinjiang and on day of Deng's funeral Xinjiang separatists plant three bombs on buses in Urumqi, Xinjiang, killing nine and injuring 74.
Hong Kong reverts to Chinese control.
2001
November - China joins the World Trade Organisation
2002 November - Vice-President Hu Jintao is named head of the ruling Communist Party, replacing Jiang Zemin, the outgoing president. Jiang is re-elected head of the influential Central Military Commission, which oversees the armed forces.
2003 March - National People's Congress elects Hu Jintao as president. He replaces Jiang Zemin, who steps down after 10 years in the post.
2007 October - China launches its first moon orbiter.
2008 January - The worst snowstorms in decades are reported to have affected up to 100 million people.
2008 May - A massive earthquake hits Sichuan province, killing tens of thousands.
2008 August - Beijing hosts Olympic Games.
Hua Guofeng, who succeeded Mao Zedong for a short period in 1976, dies in Beijing aged 87

Reference: x-rates.com, CIA World Fact book, BBC News