China

China
This article is about the People's Republic of China. For other uses, see China (disambiguation).
People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó

"March of the Volunteers"《义勇军进行曲》 (Pinyin: "Yìyǒngjūn Jìnxíngqǔ")

Area controlled by the People's Republic of China is in dark green.Claimed but uncontrolled regions are in light green.
Area controlled by the People'sRepublic of China is in dark green.
Claimed but uncontrolled regions are in light green.
Capital Beijing (Peking)
39°55′N 116°23′E / 39.917°N 116.383°E
Largest city Shanghai[1][2]
Official language(s) Modern Standard Mandarin[3]
Recognised regional languages Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Zhuang, and various others
Official written language Vernacular Chinese
Official script SimplifiedChinese[3]
Ethnic groups 91.51% Han;[4] 55 recognised minorities
List of ethnic groups

1.30% Zhuang
0.86% Manchu
0.79% Uyghur
0.79% Hui
0.72% Miao
0.65% Yi
0.62% Tujia
0.47% Mongol
0.44% Tibetan
0.26% Buyei
0.15% Korean
1.05% other

Demonym Chinese
Government Nominally socialist market economy, single-party state[5][a]
-President[b] Hu Jintao
- Premier Wen Jiabao
- Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo
- Conference Chairman Jia Qinglin
Legislature National People's Congress
Establishment
- Unification of China under the Qin Dynasty 221 BC
- Republic established 1 January 1912
- People's Republic proclaimed 1 October 1949
Area
- Total 9,640,821 km2 [c] or 9,671,018 km² [c](3rd/4th)3,704,427 sq mi
- Water (%) 2.8[d]
Population
- 2011 estimate 1,347,350,000[4] (1st)
- 2010 census 1,339,724,852[6] (1st)
- Density 139.6/km2 (81st)
363.3/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate
- Total $11.299 trillion[7] (2nd)
- Per capita $8,382[7] (91st)
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
- Total $7.298 trillion[7] (2nd)
- Per capita $5,413[7] (90th)
Gini(2007) 41.5[8]
HDI (2011) Increase 0.663[9] (medium) (89th)
Currency Renminbi (yuan) (¥) (CNY)
Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Date formats yyyy-mm-dd
or yyyy年m月d日
(CE; CE-1949)
Drives on the right, except for Hong Kong & Macau
ISO 3166 code CN
Internet TLD .cn[c] .中國[10] .中国
Calling code +86[c]
a. ^ Simple characterizations of the political structure since the 1980s are nolonger possible.[11]

b. ^ Hu Jintao also holds three other concurrent positions: General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission for both state and party.[12]

c. ^ 9,598,086 km2 (3,705,842 sq mi) excludes all disputed territories.
9,640,821 km2 (3,722,342 sq mi) Includes Chinese-administered area (Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract, bothterritories claimed by India), Taiwan is not included.[13]
d. ^ Information for mainland China only. Hong Kong, Macau, and territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China (Taiwan) are excluded.

China (Listeni/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the largest country in East Asia. It is the world'smost populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the country is the world's second-largest country by land area,[14] and the third- or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the definition of total area.[15]

The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China.[16] It exercisesjurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau).[17] Its capital city is Beijing.[18] The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim...