republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
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)
1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
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)
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Exports
electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment
cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles
External Debt
$697,200,000,000 $
$8,570,000,000 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)
Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar - 1,317 (2008 est.), 1,263.8 (2007), 1,219.8 (2006), 1,020 (2005), 971.265 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
3.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
100
6
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
Area
9,596,961 km sq
447,400 km sq
Coastline
14,500 km
0 km
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
