China

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
China's civilization dates from at least 1200 B.C. From the 3rd century B.C. and for the next two millennia, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. After World War II, the Chinese Communist Party under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system.

Geography

Area
total : 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km

Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Natural resources
coal, iron ore, helium, petroleum, natural gas, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, cadmium, ferrosilicon, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, mercury, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, antimony, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land

People and Society

Population
total: 1,416,043,270 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Han Chinese 91.1%, ethnic minorities 8.9% (includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages; note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uyghur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Religions
folk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.1% (2021 est.)

Population growth rate
0.23% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
communist party-led state

Capital
name: Beijing

Executive branch
chief of state: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
head of government: Premier LI Qiang (since 11 March 2023)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador XIE Feng (since 30 June 2023)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador David PERDUE (since 25 July 2025)

Economy

Economic overview
world’s second-largest economy by nominal GDP; global leader in exports and manufacturing; historically strong growth slowing; challenges of aging workforce, weak productivity, rising youth unemployment, struggling property sector, and public debt; state-sponsored economic controls and infrastructure investments

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$33.598 trillion (2024 est.)
$32.005 trillion (2023 est.)
$30.361 trillion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$23,800 (2024 est.)
$22,700 (2023 est.)
$21,500 (2022 est.)

Exports
$3.793 trillion (2024 est.)
$3.508 trillion (2023 est.)
$3.719 trillion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
USA 13%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 5%, Germany 5%, S. Korea 4% (2023)

Exports - commodities
broadcasting equipment, computers, integrated circuits, garments, machine parts (2023)

Imports
$3.254 trillion (2024 est.)
$3.122 trillion (2023 est.)
$3.142 trillion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
S. Korea 7%, USA 7%, Japan 6%, Australia 6%, Russia 6% (2023)

Imports - commodities
crude petroleum, integrated circuits, iron ore, gold, natural gas (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.797, ranking it 78th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 82nd out of 158 countries tested with a score of 5.695. (more information)