constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy
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)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
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)
Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
External Debt
$770,800,000,000 $
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
2.600%
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, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Area
9,596,961 km sq
26 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
24 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
