Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II Prime minister: Portia Simpson-Miller
Head of State: President Hu Jintau
Population
2,889,187
1,343,239,923
Life Expectancy
73.430 years
74.840 years
Capital City
Kingston
Beijing
Largest city
Kingston (population: 937,700)
Shanghai (population: 14,608,500)
Human Development Index
0.771
0.762
GDP per capita
$9,100 US
$8,500 US
Literacy Rate
87.9%
90.9%
Corruption Perception Index
3.1
3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.6%
21.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Liu Yongxing ($3.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
12.700%
6.500%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Communist state
Independence date
6 August 1962 (from UK)
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
Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Languages
English, English patois
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)
