221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established)
Religions
Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs), Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene)
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Languages
Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
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)
Exports
fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
External Debt
$741,300,000 $
$770,800,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 73.84 (2008 est.), 81.235 (2007), 87.946 (2006), 88.67 (2005), 88.808 (2004)
Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 6.9385 (2008 est.), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.400%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
100
Location
Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Area
4,033 km sq
9,596,961 km sq
Coastline
965 km
14,500 km
Climate
temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
