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)
4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents)
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)
Tongan, English
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
$104,600,000 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)
pa'anga (TOP) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.0277 (2006), 1.96 (2005), 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
0.900%
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
Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Area
9,596,961 km sq
747 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
419 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
