China

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China's historical civilization dates to at least the 13th century B.C., first under the Shang (to 1046 B.C.) and then the Zhou (1046-221 B.C.) dynasties. The imperial era of China began in 221 B.C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. In the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty suffered heavily from overextension by territorial conquest, insolvency, civil war, imperialism, military defeats, and foreign expropriation of ports and infrastructure. It collapsed following the Revolution of 1911, and China became a republic under SUN Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist) Party. However, the republic was beset by division, warlordism, and continued foreign intervention. In the late 1920s, a civil war erupted between the ruling KMT-controlled government, led by CHIANG Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Japan occupied much of northeastern China in the early 1930s, and then launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 1937. The resulting eight years of warfare devastated the country and cost up to 20 million Chinese lives by the time of Japan’s defeat in 1945. The Nationalist-Communist civil war continued with renewed intensity after the end of World War II and culminated with a CCP victory in 1949, under the leadership of MAO Zedong.<br><br>MAO and the CCP established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring the PRC's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and launched agricultural, economic, political, and social policies -- such as the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) -- that cost the lives of millions of people. MAO died in 1976. Beginning in 1978, leaders DENG Xiaoping, JIANG Zemin, and HU Jintao focused on market-oriented economic development and opening up the country to foreign trade, while maintaining the rule of the CCP. Since the change, China has been among the world’s fastest growing economies, with real gross domestic product averaging over 9% growth annually through 2021, lifting an estimated 800 million people out of poverty and dramatically improving overall living standards. By 2011, the PRC’s economy was the second largest in the world. Current leader XI Jinping has continued these policies but has also maintained tight political controls. Over the past decade, China has increased its global outreach, including military deployments, participation in international organizations, and a global connectivity plan in 2013 called the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI). Many nations have signed on to BRI agreements to attract PRC investment, but others have expressed concerns about such issues as the opaque nature of the projects, financing, and potentially unsustainable debt obligations. XI Jinping assumed the positions of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012 and President in 2013. In 2018, the PRC’s National People’s Congress passed an amendment abolishing presidential term limits, which allowed XI to gain a third five-year term in 2023.  <p> </p>

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Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

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35 00 N, 105 00 E

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Asia

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slightly smaller than the US

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14,500 km

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extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

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mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

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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

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690,070 sq km (2012)

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Yangtze - 6,300 km; Huang He - 5,464 km; Amur river source (shared with Mongolia and Russia [m]) - 4,444 km; Lancang Jiang (Mekong) river source (shared with Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km; Yarlung Zangbo Jiang (Brahmaputra) river source (shared with India and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Yin-tu Ho (Indus) river source (shared with India and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Nu Jiang (Salween) river source (shared with Thailand and Burma [m]) - 3,060 km; Irrawaddy river source (shared with Burma [m]) - 2,809 km; Zhu Jiang (Pearl) (shared with Vietnam [s]) - 2,200 km; Yuan Jiang (Red river) source (shared with Vietnam [m]) - 1,149 km <br><br><strong>note:</strong> [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

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North China Aquifer System (Huang Huai Hai Plain), Song-Liao Plain, Tarim Basin

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overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many Asian and European countries; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang

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frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence <br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or P'aektu-san), Hainan Dao, and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries

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<strong>note 1:</strong> world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and the US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest, on the border with Nepal, is the world's tallest peak above sea level<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the largest cave chamber in the world is the Miao Room, in the Gebihe cave system at China's Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park, which encloses about 10.78 million cu m (380.7 million cu ft); the world's largest sinkhole is the Xiaoxhai Tiankeng sinkhole in Chongqing Municipality, which is 660 m deep, with a volume of 130 million cu m

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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.)

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<strong>note:</strong> the PRC officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups

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

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<strong>note:</strong> officially atheist

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<strong>note:</strong> data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan

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-0.08% (2025 est.)

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7.28 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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7.97 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many Asian and European countries; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang

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<strong>note:</strong> data do not include Hong Kong and Macau

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29.211 million Shanghai, 21.766 million BEIJING (capital), 17.341 million Chongqing, 14.284 million Guangzhou, 14.239 million Tianjin, 13.073 million Shenzhen (2023)

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16 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

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1.2 children born/woman (2025 est.)

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0.57 (2025 est.)

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3.11 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

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5 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

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6.2% (2016)

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2.4% (2013)

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69.5% (2021 est.)

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in October 2015, the Chinese Government announced that it would change its rules to allow all couples to have two children, loosening a 1979 mandate that restricted many couples to one child; the new policy was implemented on 1 January 2016 to address China&rsquo;s rapidly aging population and future economic needs

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air pollution and acid rain from reliance on coal; carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leading to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and desertification; trade in endangered species

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extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

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<strong>note:</strong> data do not include Hong Kong and Macau

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41.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

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2.84 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)

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communist party-led state

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23 provinces (<em>sheng</em>, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (<em>zizhiqu</em>, singular and plural), 4 municipalities (<em>shi</em>, singular and plural), and two special administrative regions (<em>tebie xingzhengqu</em>, singular and plural) <br><br><strong>provinces:</strong> Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) <br><br><strong>autonomous regions:</strong> Guangxi, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), Ningxia, Xinjiang Uyghur, Xizang (Tibet) <br><br><strong>municipalities:</strong> Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin<br><br><strong>special administrative regions:</strong> Hong Kong, Macau

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<strong>note:</strong> China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau

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civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes

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<strong>note:</strong> in 2020, the National People's Congress adopted the PRC Civil Code, which codifies personal relations and property relations

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has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

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18 years of age; universal

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<strong>note: </strong>ultimate authority rests with the Communist Party Central Committee’s 25-member Political Bureau (Politburo) and its seven-member Standing Committee; XI Jinping holds the three most powerful positions as party general secretary, state president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission

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<strong>note:</strong> in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected

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Chinese Communist Party or CCP

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<strong>note:</strong> China has 8 nominally independent small parties controlled by the CCP

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ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-5, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)

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National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949)

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<strong>description:</strong> red with a large five-pointed yellow star and four smaller ones in the upper-left corner; the small stars are arranged in a vertical arc around the large one<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> red represents revolution; the stars symbolize the four social classes -- the working class, the peasantry, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie (capitalists) -- united under the Communist Party of China

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dragon, giant panda

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red, yellow

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<p>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</p>

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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$18.744 trillion (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

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<b>note:</b> annual % change based on consumer prices

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<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

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maize, rice, vegetables, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, cucumbers/gherkins, tomatoes, watermelons, pork (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

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world leader in gross value of industrial output; mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizer; consumer products (including footwear, toys, and electronics); food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, railcars and locomotives, ships, aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites

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5.3% (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

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773.88 million (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force seeking employment

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

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0% (2020 est.)

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<b>note:</b> % of population with income below national poverty line

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<b>note:</b> index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality

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<b>note:</b> % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

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<b>note:</b> personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

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<strong>note:</strong> official data; data cover both central and local government debt, including debt officially recognized by China's National Audit Office report in 2011; data exclude policy bank bonds, Ministry of Railway debt, and China Asset Management Company debt

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7.6% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

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<b>note:</b> central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

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

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<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

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

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<b>note:</b> top five export commodities based on value in dollars

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

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

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<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

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

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<b>note:</b> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

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<b>note:</b> holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

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<b>note:</b> present value of external debt in current US dollars

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all broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV, provincial, and municipal stations offer more than 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department and local (provincial, municipal) officials direct news reporting and approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved/censored prior to broadcast; widespread use of online platforms (Bilibili, Tencent Video, iQiyi, etc) to access domestic and international films and TV shows; Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) regulates video platforms (2022)

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.cn

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B

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552 (2025)

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120 (2025)

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People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces or People's Liberation Army Army (PLAA), Navy (PLAN, includes Marine Corps (PLANMC)), Air Force (PLAAF), Rocket Force (PLARF), Aerospace Force (ASF), Cyberspace Force (CSF), Information Support Force (ISF), Joint Logistics Support Force (JLSF); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2025)

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<strong>note 1:</strong> the PAP is a paramilitary police component of China’s armed forces that is under the dual authority of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Central Military Commission; the China Coast Guard (CCG) is subordinate to the PAP<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>the PLA (established 1927) is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission (CMC); the CMC is China’s top military decision making body

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approximately 2 million active-duty PLA (950,000-1 million Ground; 250,000 Navy, including about 50,000 Marines; 350-400,000 Air Force; 120,000 Rocket Forces; 150-175,000 other forces) (2025)

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the PLA is mostly equipped with domestically produced armaments with smaller amounts of imported weaponry, largely from Russia; China has one of the world's largest defense-industrial sectors and is capable of producing advanced weapons systems across all military domains (2025)

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<strong>note:</strong> the PLA is in the midst of a decades-long modernization effort to achieve a "world-class" military by the 2040s

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18-26 years of age depending on education level for men and women for both volunteer and selective compulsory military service; 24-month service obligation  (2025)

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<strong>note: </strong>the PLA’s conscription system functions as a levy; the PLA establishes the number of enlistees needed, which produces quotas for the provinces; each province provides a set number of soldiers or sailors; if the number of volunteers fails to meet quotas, the local governments may compel individuals to enter military service

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475 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 1,050 South Sudan (UNMISS); 280 Sudan/South Sudan (UNISFA); has also established a base in Djibouti with approximately 400 marines, plus naval and support personnel (2025)

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the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the world’s largest military; the PLA's primary responsibility is external security but it also has some domestic security duties; China’s stated defense policy includes safeguarding sovereignty, security, and development interests while emphasizing a greater global role for the PLA; the PLA conducts air, counterspace, cyber, electronic warfare, joint, land, maritime, missile, nuclear, and space operations; it trains regularly, including multinational and multiservice exercises, deploys overseas, and participates in international peacekeeping missions <br><br>the PRC's internal security forces consist primarily of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the People’s Armed Police (PAP), and the militia; the PLA support the internal security forces as necessary:<br><br>--the MPS controls the civilian national police, which serves as the first-line force for public order; its primary mission is domestic law enforcement and maintaining order, including anti-rioting and anti-terrorism<br><br>--the MSS is the PRC’s main civilian intelligence and counterintelligence service<br><br>--the PAP is a paramilitary component (or adjunct) of the PLA; its primary missions include internal security, maintaining public order, maritime security, and assisting the PLA in times of war; the China Coast Guard (CCG) administratively falls under the PAP and has a variety of missions, such as maritime sovereignty enforcement, surveillance, resource protection, anti-smuggling, and general law enforcement; it is the largest maritime law enforcement fleet in the world<br><br>--the militia is an armed reserve of civilians which serves as an auxiliary and reserve force for the PLA upon mobilization, although it is distinct from the PLA’s reserve forces; militia units are organized around towns, villages, urban sub-districts, and enterprises, and vary widely in composition and mission; they have dual civilian-military command structures; a key component of the militia are the local maritime forces, commonly referred to as the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM); the PAFMM consists of mariners (and their vessels) who receive training, equipment, and other forms of support from the Navy and CCG (although the PAFMM remains separate from both) to perform tasks such as maritime patrolling, surveillance and reconnaissance, emergency/disaster response, transportation, search and rescue, and auxiliary tasks in support of naval operations in wartime; the PAFMM’s tasks are often conducted in conjunction or coordination with the Navy and the CCG; it has been used to assert Beijing's maritime claims in the Sea of Japan and South China Sea (2025)

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China National Space Administration (CNSA; established in 1993); Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND; subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology); People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Aerospace Force (2025)

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<strong>note:</strong> in 2024, the PLA created the Aerospace Force from the former Strategic Support Force, which had included the Space Systems Department and the China Manned Space Engineering Office or CMSEO)

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Jiuquan Launch Center (Inner Mongolia); Xichang Launch Center (Sichuan); Wenchang Launch Center (Hainan; Wenchang includes a commercial launch pad, the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, which became operational in December 2024); Taiyuan Launch Center (Shanxi); Eastern Spaceport (Shandong; a coastal spaceport designed to facilitate maritime launches) (2025)

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considered one of the world’s leading space powers, with a comprehensive and ambitious space program; can manufacture and operate the full spectrum of space launch vehicles (SLVs) and spacecraft, including human-crewed, lunar/inter-planetary/asteroid probes, satellites (communications, remote sensing, navigational, scientific, etc.), space stations, and reusable space transportation; has an astronaut/taikonaut program; researches and develops a range of space-related capabilities, including advanced telecommunications, optics, spacecraft components, and satellite payloads; participates in international space programs and co-leads (with Australia and Japan) the Global Earth Observation System of Systems; has signed agreements with more than 45 national space agencies, including those of Brazil, Canada, France, and Russia, as well several international organizations; has also cooperated with ESA; two state-owned aerospace enterprises dominate space industry, but a substantial commercial space sector includes launch services (2025)

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<strong>note:</strong> the US NASA is barred by a 2011 law from cooperating with the Chinese bilaterally in space unless approved by the US Congress; the US objected to China’s participation in the International Space Station program

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1960s - began launching rockets and initiated satellite and satellite launch vehicle (SLV) programs<br><br>1970 - launched first communications satellite (Dongfanghong I)<br><br>2003 - first manned space flight; launched first satellite for global navigational system (Beidou)<br><br>2011 - placed temporary space station (Tiangong-1) into Earth orbit<br><br>2013 - first unmanned lunar landing mission (Chang'e-3); placed a second temporary space station (Tiangong-2) in Earth orbit<br><br>2017 - employed a communications satellite (Micius) to perform the world’s first quantum-encrypted virtual teleconference between Beijing and Vienna<br><br>2019 - landed a rover vehicle (Chang’e-4) on the far side of the Moon<br><br>2021 - landed a probe and operated a rover vehicle on Mars; signed agreement with Russia to set up an international manned lunar research station; announced intent to send a manned mission to Mars by 2033<br><br>2022 - completed construction of a permanent manned space station (Tiangong) in Earth orbit<br><br>2024 - successful landing and return of robotic spacecraft/probe (Chang'e-6) from the far side the Moon; first launch of "Thousand Sails" commercial communications satellite constellation project<br><br>2025 - launched asteroid sample return mission probe (Tianwen-2); launched world's first quantum communications microsatellite (Jinan-1)