Currency: yuan (CNY) Currency code: CNY

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.5 trillion (2000 est.)

GDP —real growth rate: 8% (2000 est.)

GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 15% industry: 50% services: 35% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: 10% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 700 million (1998 est.)

Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 50%, industry 24%, services 26% (1998)

Unemployment rate: urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2000 est.)

Industries: iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications

Exports: $232 billion (f.o.b., 2000) Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels Exports - partners: US 21%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 17%, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Singapore, Taiwan (2000)

Imports: $197 billion (f.o.b., 2000) Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals Imports—partners: Japan 18%, Taiwan 11%, US 10%, South Korea 10%, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia (2000)

China Economy

Population: 1,273,111,290 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 25.01% (male 166,754,893; female 151,598,117) 15-64 years: 67.88% (male 445,222,858; female 418,959,646) 65 years and over: 7.11% (male 42,547,296; female 48,028,480) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.88% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 15.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 6.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 28.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.62 years male: 69.81 years female: 73.59 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Nationality: noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Religions: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.) note: officially atheist

Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 81.5% male: 89.9% female: 72.7% (1995 est.)

People of China

What were the main dynasties of Chinese history? Why is Chinese history divided into dynasties? What sort of government did ancient China have? When did China get to be one country?

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Ancient China History for Kids

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China Facts

For centuries China has stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the first half of the 20th century, China was beset by major famines, civil unrest, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China’s sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the world’s second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to weaken.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

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