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)
12 October 1968 (from Spain)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
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)
Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
External Debt
$770,800,000,000 $
$1,232,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 6.9385 (2008 est.), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004)
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar 441.72 (2008 est.), 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
0.100%
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
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Area
9,596,961 km sq
28,051 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
296 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
