Official Name People's Republic of China
Capital Beijing
Geography

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea,
Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea,
between North Korea and Vietnam

Area
- Total
- Land
- water

Ranked 4th (slightly smaller than the US)
9,596,960 km
9,326,410 km
270,550 km

Administrative Divisions
23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4

municipalities

Population
- Total
Ranked 1st
1,306,313,812 (as in Dec 2004)
Population Constituents

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%
Language

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Chinese call
it Putonghua)

Yue (Cantonese)

Wu (Shanghaiese)

Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-
Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects


Independence 1st October 1949 (People's Republic
established)
Currency Chinese Yuan (1 CNY = 5 39 INR)
Time zone India Time + 2 hr 30 min (GMT + 8)
National anthem March of the Volunteers (Yiyongjun Jinxingqu)
Internet TLD cn
Calling Code 86
GDP:
Purchasing power parity - $7 262 trillion (2004
est )
GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2004 est )
Annual Growth: 9 1%
Inflation: 4 1%
Electricity:

Major Industries:
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 and satellites

Chief of State:

President HU Jintao

Vice President ZENG Qinghong