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.)
indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
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)
English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)
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
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Area
9,596,961 km sq
587,041 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
4,828 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
