Head of state: Queen Beatrix Prime minister: Mark Rutte
Population
1,343,239,923
16,730,632
Life Expectancy
74.840 years
80.910 years
Capital City
Beijing
Amsterdam
Largest city
Shanghai (population: 14,608,500)
Amsterdam (population: 741,636)
Human Development Index
0.762
0.958
GDP per capita
$8,500 US
$42,700 US
Literacy Rate
90.9%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
8.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
21.3%
37.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Liu Yongxing ($3.0bn US)
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken ($4.6bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.500%
4.400%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Communist state
constitutional monarchy
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)
23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Roman Catholic 30%, Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinist 6%, other Protestant 3%, Muslim 5.8%, other 2.2%, none 42% (2006)
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)
Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
$2,655,000,000,000 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)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
1.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
100
16
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Area
9,596,961 km sq
41,543 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
451 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
