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Factoids: Background Information and Statistics on China |
China Official name: People's Republic of China (PRC) Capital: Beijing Official language: Mandarin (also known as pu tong hua) Other languages: Yue, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Minbei, Minnan plus many other local dialects Size: 3,696,100 square miles (9,596,960 square km) Climate: Tropical in south to sub-arctic in north Urban density: 29% of the total population live in the major cities; 71% live in rural China (source: World Almanac) People Nationality: Chinese (singular and plural) Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.9%; Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uygur, Yi, Mongolian, Tibetan, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities--8.1%. Population (1997 est.): 1.22 billion Population growth rate (1997 est.): 0.93% Infant mortality rate: 37.9 per 1,000 Life expectancy: 70.0 years (overall); 68.6 years for males, 71.5 years for females. Religions: Officially atheist; Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity Literacy rate: 82% Education: 9 years compulsory Work force (699 million): Agriculture and forestry (60%), industry and commerce (25%), other (15%) Led by the Chinese Communist Party, though only 5% of the population are registered as Party members (source: U.S. State Dept.) People's Republic established on October 1, 1949 (National Day) (chronological index of Chinese dynasties) Branches: Executive: President (Jiang Zemin), Vice-President (Hu Jintao), State Council, Premier (Zhu Rongji) Legislative: National People's Congress Judicial: Supreme People's Court |
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