Co-heads of state: Joan Enric Vives i Sicilia, Bishop of Urgel, Spain, and Nicolas Sarkozy of France Head of government: Antoni Marti
Population
1,343,239,923
85,082
Life Expectancy
74.840 years
82.500 years
Capital City
Beijing
Largest city
Shanghai (population: 14,608,500)
Andorra la Vella (population: 20,430)
Human Development Index
0.762
0
GDP per capita
$8,500 US
Literacy Rate
90.9%
100%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
21.3%
25%
Wealthiest Citizens
Liu Yongxing ($3.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
6.500%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Communist state
parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains as its chiefs of state a coprincipality; the two princes are the president of France and bishop of Seo de Urgel, Spain, who are represented locally by coprinces' representatives
Independence date
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
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Roman Catholic (predominant)
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)
Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
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
4.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
100
0
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain
Area
9,596,961 km sq
468 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
0 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers
