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)
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
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)
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
$102,300,000,000 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)
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
7.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
100
1
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Area
9,596,961 km sq
20,770 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
273 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
