Factbook dossier
Background
China's historical civilization dates to at least the 13th century B.C., first under the Shang (to 1046 B.C.) and then the Zhou (1046-221 B.C.) dynasties. The imperial era of China began in 221 B.C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. In the 19 th century, the Qing Dynasty suffered heavily from overextension by territorial conquest, insolvency, civil war, imperialism, military defeats, and foreign expropriation of ports and infrastructure. It collapsed following the Revolution of 1911, and China became a republic under SUN Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist) Party. However, the republic was beset by division, warlordism, and continued foreign intervention. In the late 1920s, a civil war erupted between the ruling KMT-controlled government, led by CHIANG Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Japan occupied much of northeastern China in the early 1930s, and then launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 1937. The resulting eight years of warfare devastated the country and cost up to 20 million Chinese lives by the time of Japan s defeat in 1945. The Nationalist-Communist civil war continued with renewed intensity after the end of World War II and culminated with a CCP victory in 1949, under the leadership of MAO Zedong. MAO and the CCP established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring the PRC's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and launched agricultural, ec…
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Area
total : 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km
Natural resources
coal, iron ore, helium, petroleum, natural gas, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, cadmium, ferrosilicon, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, mercury, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, antimony, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land
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
Population
total: 1,407,181,209 (2025 est.) male: 716,908,592 female: 690,272,617
Ethnic groups
Han Chinese 91.1%, ethnic minorities 8.9% (includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.) note: the PRC officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups
Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages; note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uyghur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet) major-language sample(s): 世界概況 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Standard Chinese) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
folk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.1% (2021 est.) note: officially atheist
Environmental issues
air pollution and acid rain from reliance on coal; carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leading to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and desertification; trade in endangered species
Government type
communist party-led state
Capital
name: Beijing geographic coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into five etymology: the name comes from the Chinese words bei (north) and jing (capital)
Executive branch
chief of state: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) head of government: Premier LI Qiang (since 11 March 2023) cabinet: State Council appointed by National People's Congress election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected by National People's Congress; premier nominated by president, confirmed by National People's Congress most recent election date: 10 March 2023 election results: 2023: XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,952 (unanimously); HAN Zheng elected vice president with 2,952 votes; LI Qiang elected premier with 2,936 votes 2018 : XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,970 (unanimously); WANG Qishan elected vice president with 2,969 votes expected date of next election: March 2028 note: ultimate authority rests with the Communist Party Central Committee s 25-member Political Bureau (Politburo) and its seven-member Standing Committee; XI Jinping holds the three most powerful positions as party general secretary, state president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission
Legislative branch
legislature name: National People's Congress (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui) legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 3000 (all indirectly elected) scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 5 years most recent election date: 3/5/2023 percentage of women in chamber: 26.5% expected date of next election: March 2028 note: in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$33.598 trillion (2024 est.) $32.005 trillion (2023 est.) $30.361 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$23,800 (2024 est.) $22,700 (2023 est.) $21,500 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
0.2% (2024 est.) 0.2% (2023 est.) 2% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
USA 13%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 5%, Germany 5%, S. Korea 4% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
S. Korea 7%, USA 7%, Japan 6%, Australia 6%, Russia 6% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces or People's Liberation Army Army (PLAA), Navy (PLAN, includes Marine Corps (PLANMC)), Air Force (PLAAF), Rocket Force (PLARF), Aerospace Force (ASF), Cyberspace Force (CSF), Information Support Force (ISF), Joint Logistics Support Force (JLSF); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2025) note 1: the PAP is a paramilitary police component of China s armed forces that is under the dual authority of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Central Military Commission; the China Coast Guard (CCG) is subordinate to the PAP note 2: the PLA (established 1927) is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission (CMC); the CMC is China s top military decision making body
Military expenditures
1.5% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2020 est.)