China

Map of China

Country name	People's Republic of China
Capital	Beijing
Independence	1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 BC (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)
National holiday	Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Population	1,343,239,923 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.13 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Chinese (singular and plural)
Religions	Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
Languages	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)
Literacy	Age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 92.2% Male: 96% Female: 88.5% (2007)
Location	Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Geographic coordinates	35 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references	Asia
Area	Total: 9,596,961 sq km Land: 9,569,901 sq km Water: 27,060 sq km
Area - comparative	Slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries	Total: 22,117 km Border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 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 regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Coastline	14,500 km
Maritime claims	Territorial sea: 12 nm Contiguous zone: 24 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate	extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain	mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (highest point in Asia)
Exports - commodities	Electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textiles, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
Imports - commodities	Electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels, optical and medical equipment, metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals
Natural resources	Coal, Iron ore, Petroleum, Natural gas, Mercury, Tin, Tungsten, Antimony, Manganese, Molybdenum, Vanadium, Magnetite, Aluminum, Lead, Zinc, Rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Land use	Arable land: 14.86% Permanent crops: 1.27% Other: 83.87% (2005)
Irrigated land	641,410 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	2,829.6 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Total: 549.76 cu km/yr (7%/26%/68%) per capita: 415 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or P'aektu-san), Hainan Dao, and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, 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: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak