Head of state: Prime minister - elect : Yingluck Shinawatra
Population
1,343,239,923
67,091,089
Life Expectancy
74.840 years
73.830 years
Capital City
Beijing
Bangkok
Largest city
Shanghai (population: 14,608,500)
Bangkok (population: 5,104,480)
Human Development Index
0.762
0.786
GDP per capita
$8,500 US
$9,500 US
Literacy Rate
90.9%
92.6%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
3.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
21.3%
12.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Liu Yongxing ($3.0bn US)
Chaleo Yoovidhya ($3.7bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.500%
0.700%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
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)
1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (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)
Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
$115,600,000,000 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)
baht per US dollar - 33.37 (2008 est.), 34.52 (2007), 37.882 (2006), 40.22 (2005), 40.222 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
1.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
100
4
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
Area
9,596,961 km sq
513,120 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
3,219 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid
