President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Population
1,343,239,923
5,353,494
Life Expectancy
74.840 years
83.750 years
Capital City
Beijing
Singapore
Largest city
Shanghai (population: 14,608,500)
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Human Development Index
0.762
0.918
GDP per capita
$8,500 US
$60,500 US
Literacy Rate
90.9%
92.5%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
9.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
21.3%
24.5%
Wealthiest Citizens
Liu Yongxing ($3.0bn US)
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.500%
2.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
Communist state
parliamentary republic
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)
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
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)
Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
$23,580,000,000 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)
Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar - 1.415 (2008 est.), 1.507 (2007), 1.5889 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
4.900%
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
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area
9,596,961 km sq
697 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
193 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
