Statistical information China 2016

China in the World

China - Introduction 2016

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Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences but in the 19th and early 20th centuries the country was beset by civil unrest major famines military defeats and foreign occupation. After World War II the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that while ensuring China's sovereignty imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978 MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.

China - Geography 2016

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

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N 105 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 9,596,960 km²
Land: 9,326,410 km²
Water: 270,550 km²
Rank: 4
Comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries
Total: 22,457 km
Border countries: (14) Afghanistan 91 km; Bhutan 477 km; Burma 2,129 km; India 2,659 km; Kazakhstan 1765 km; North Korea 1352 km; Kyrgyzstan 1063 km; Laos 475 km; Mongolia 4,630 km; Nepal 1389 km; Pakistan 438 km; Russia (northeast) 4,133 km; Russia (northwest) 46 km; Tajikistan 477 km; Vietnam 1297 km
Regional borders: Hong Kong 33 km Macau 3 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

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

Elevation
Mean elevation: 1840 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m: highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level)

Natural resources: coal iron ore petroleum natural gas mercury tin tungsten antimony manganese molybdenum vanadium magnetite aluminum lead zinc rare earth elements uranium hydropower potential (world's largest) arable land

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 54.7%

arable land: 11.3%
permanent crops: 1.6%
permanent pasture: 41.8%

Forest: 22.3%
Other: 23%

Irrigated land: 690,070 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan Hainan Dao and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries

Geography
Note: world's fourth largest country (after Russia Canada and US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak

China - People 2016

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Population: 1,373,541,278 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 1
Growth rate: 0.43% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 164
Below poverty line: (2013 est.)
Below poverty line note: in 2011 China set a new poverty line at RMB 2,300

Nationality
Noun: Chinese
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.6% Zhuang 1.3% other (includes Hui Manchu Uighur Miao Yi Tujia Tibetan Mongol Dong Buyei Yao Bai Korean Hani Li Kazakh Dai and other nationalities) 7.1%
Note: the Chinese Government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups

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 (see Ethnic groups entry)
Note: Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang Yue is official in Guangdong Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uygur and Tibetan is official in Xizang

Religions: Buddhist 18.2% Christian 5.1% Muslim 1.8% folk religion 21.9% Hindu 0.1% Jewish 0.1% other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)) unaffiliated 52.2%
Note: officially atheist

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.1%
15-24 years: 13.27%
25-54 years: 48.42%
55-64 years: 10.87%
65 years and over: 10.35% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 36.6%
Youth dependency ratio: 23.5%
Elderly dependency ratio: 13%
Potential support ratio: 7.7%

Median age
Total: 37.1 years
Male: 36.2 years
Female: 38.1 years
Rank: 67

Population growth rate: 0.43% (2016 est.)
Rank: 164

Birth rate: 12.4 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 160

Death rate: 7.7 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 106

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 125

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 55.6% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.05% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: Shanghai 23.741 million; BEIJING (capital) 20.384 million; Chongqing 13.332 million; Guangdong 12.458 million; Tianjin 11.21 million; Shenzhen 10.749 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution (greenhouse gases sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; China is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water shortages particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.15 male/female
0-14 years: 1.17 male/female
15-24 years: 1.14 male/female
25-54 years: 1.04 male/female
55-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male/female
Total population: 1.06 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.2 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 12.4 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 12 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 121

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.5 years
Male: 73.5 years
Female: 77.9 years
Rank: 101

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 182

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 84.6% (2006)

Drinking water source:

urban: 97.5% of population
rural: 93% of population
total: 95.5% of population
urban: 2.5% of population
rural: 7% of population
total: 4.5% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.49 physicians/1000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density: 3.8 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

urban: 86.6% of population
rural: 63.7% of population
total: 76.5% of population
urban: 13.4% of population
rural: 36.3% of population
total: 23.5% of population (2015 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2012 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 112
People living with hivaids: 780,000 (2012 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 11
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: Japanese encephalitis
Soil contact disease: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 7.3% (2014)
Rank: 152

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.4% (2010)
Rank: 109

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 96.4%
Male: 98.2%
Female: 94.5%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 14 years

Youth unemployment

China - Government 2016

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Country name
Conventional long form: People's Republic of China
Conventional short form: China
Local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Local short form: Zhongguo
Abbreviation: PRC
Etymology: English name derives from the Qin rulers of the 3rd century B.C. who comprised the first imperial dynasty of ancient China; the Chinese name Zhongguo translates as 'Central Nation'

Government type: communist state

Capital
Name: Beijing
Geographic coordinates: 39 55 N 116 23 E
Time difference: UTC+8
Note: despite its size all of China falls within one time zone; many people in Xinjiang Province observe an unofficial 'Xinjiang time zone' of UTC+6 two hours behind Beijing

Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng singular and plural) 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (shi singular and plural)
Provinces: Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang;
Autonomous regions: Guangxi Nei Mongol Ningxia Xinjiang Uygur Xizang (Tibet)
Municipalities: Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin
Note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau

Dependent areas

Independence: 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)

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

Constitution: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982; amended several times last in 2004 (2016)

Legal system: civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; note - criminal procedure law revised in early 2012

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: least one parent must be a citizen of China
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: while naturalization is theoretically possible in practical terms it is extremely difficult; residency is required but not specified

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President XI Jinping ; Vice President LI Yuanchao (since 14 March 2013)
Head of government: Premier LI Keqiang ; Executive Vice Premiers ZHANG Gaoli (since 16 March 2013) LIU Yandong (since 16 March 2013) MA Kai (since 16 March 2013) WANG Yang (since 16 March 2013)
Cabinet: State Council appointed by National People's Congress
Electionsappointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term ; election last held on 5-17 March 2013 (next to be held in March 2018); premier nominated by president confirmed by National People's Congress
Election results: XI Jinping elected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,952 ; LI Yuanchao elected vice president with 2,940 votes

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui ; note - in practice only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) its 8 allied parties and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected
Elections: last held in December 2012-February 2013
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme People's Court
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the People's National Congress ; term limited to 2 consecutive 5-year terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other justices and judges determined by the NPC
Subordinate courts: Higher People's Courts; Intermediate People's Courts; District and County People's Courts; Autonomous Region People's Courts; Special People's Courts for military maritime transportation and forestry issues
Note: in late 2014 China unveiled planned judicial reforms

Political parties and leaders: Chinese Communist Party or CCP [XI Jinping]
Note: China has eight nominally independent small parties ultimately controlled by the CCP

International organization participation: 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 MINUSMA MONUSCO NAM (observer) NSG OAS (observer) OPCW Pacific Alliance (observer) PCA PIF (partner) SAARC (observer) SCO SICA (observer) UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNMIL UNMISS UNOCI UNSC (permanent) UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador CUI Tiankai
In the us chancery: 3,505 International Place NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 495-2,266
In the us FAX: [1] 495-2,138
In the us consulate general: Chicago Houston Los Angeles New York San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Max Sieben BAUCUS
From the us embassy: 55 An Jia Lou Lu 100,600 Beijing
From the us mailing address: PSC 461 Box 50 FPO AP 96,521-0002
From the us telephone: [86] 8,531-3,000
From the us FAX: [86] 8,531-3,300
From the us consulate general: Chengdu Guangzhou Shanghai Shenyang Wuhan

Flag description

: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner; the color red represents revolution while 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

National symbols: dragon; national colors: red yellow

National anthem
Name: 'Yiyongjun Jinxingqu'
Lyrics and music: TIAN Han/NIE Er
Note: adopted 1949; the anthem though banned during the Cultural Revolution is more commonly known as 'Zhongguo Guoge' ; it was originally the theme song to the 1935 Chinese movie 'Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm'

National heritage

China - Economy 2016

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Economy overview:

Since the late 1970s China has moved from a closed centrally planned system to a more market-oriented one that plays a major global role; in 2010 China became the world's largest exporter. Reforms began with the phaseout of collectivized agriculture and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices fiscal decentralization increased autonomy for state enterprises growth of the private sector development of stock markets and a modern banking system and opening to foreign trade and investment. China has implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion. In recent years China has renewed its support for state-owned enterprises in sectors considered important to 'economic security' explicitly looking to foster globally competitive industries. The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences China in 2015 stood as the largest economy in the world surpassing the US in 2014 for the first time in modern history. Still China's per capita income is below the world average.
After keeping its currency tightly linked to the US dollar for years China in July 2005 moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. From mid-2005 to late 2008 cumulative appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar was more than 20% but the exchange rate remained virtually pegged to the dollar from the onset of the global financial crisis until June 2010 when Beijing allowed resumption of a gradual appreciation. In 2015 the People’s Bank of China announced it would continue to carefully push for full convertibility of the renminbi after the currency was accepted as part of the IMF’s special drawing rights basket.
The Chinese Government faces numerous economic challenges including: (a) reducing its high domestic savings rate and correspondingly low domestic consumption; (b) facilitating higher-wage job opportunities for the aspiring middle class including rural migrants and increasing numbers of college graduates; (c) reducing corruption and other economic crimes; and (d) containing environmental damage and social strife related to the economy's rapid transformation. Economic development has progressed further in coastal provinces than in the interior and by 2014 more than 274 million migrant workers and their dependents had relocated to urban areas to find work. One consequence of population control policy is that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. Deterioration in the environment - notably air pollution soil erosion and the steady fall of the water table especially in the North - is another long-term problem. China continues to lose arable land: because of erosion and economic development. The Chinese government is seeking to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil focusing on nuclear and alternative energy development.
Several factors are converging to slow China's growth including debt overhang from its credit-fueled stimulus program industrial overcapacity inefficient allocation of capital by state-owned banks and the slow recovery of China's trading partners. The government's 13th Five-Year Plan unveiled in November 2015 emphasizes continued economic reforms and the need to increase innovation and domestic consumption in order to make the economy less dependent in the future on fixed investments exports and heavy industry. However China has made only marginal progress toward these rebalancing goals. The new government of President XI Jinping has signaled a greater willingness to undertake reforms that focus on China's long-term economic health including giving the market a more decisive role in allocating resources. In 2014 China agreed to begin limiting carbon dioxide emissions by 2,030

Real gdp purchasing power parity:

$19.39 trillion (2015 est.)
$18.14 trillion (2014 est.)
$16.91 trillion (2013 est.)

Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 1

Real gdp growth rate:

6.9% (2015 est.)
7.3% (2014 est.)
7.7% (2013 est.)

Rank: 16

Real gdp per capita:

$14,100 (2015 est.)
$13,300 (2014 est.)
$12,400 (2013 est.)

Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 113

Gross national saving:

47.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
49.3% of GDP (2014 est.)
48.8% of GDP (2013 est.)

Rank: 2

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 38%
Government consumption: 13.6%
Investment in fixed capital: 43.4%
Investment in inventories: 1.6%
Exports of goods and services: 21.7%
Imports of goods and services: -18.3%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.9%
Industry: 40.9%
Services: 50.2%: (2015 est.)

Agriculture products: world leader in gross value of agricultural output; rice wheat potatoes corn peanuts tea millet barley apples cotton oilseed; pork; fish

Industries: 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; fertilizers; consumer products (including footwear toys and electronics); food processing; transportation equipment including automobiles rail cars and locomotives ships aircraft; telecommunications equipment commercial space launch vehicles satellites

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2015 est.)
Rank: 34

Labor force: 806.3 million
Note: (2012 est.)
Rank: 1
By occupation agriculture: 33.6%
By occupation industry: 30.3%
By occupation services: 36.1%

Labor force

Unemployment rate:

4% (2015 est.)
4.1% (2014 est.)

Note: data are for registered urban unemployment which excludes private enterprises and migrants
Rank: 35

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: (2013 est.)
Note: in 2011 China set a new poverty line at RMB 2,300

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.7%
Highest 10: 30%
Note: data are for urban households only

Distribution of family income gini index:

46.9 (2014 est.)
47.3 (2013 est.)

Rank: 28

Budget
Revenues: $2.444 trillion
Expenditures: $2.822 trillion
Surplus or deficit: -3.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 127

Taxes and other revenues: 22.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 142

Public debt:

15.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
14.8% of GDP (2014 est.)

Note: official data; data cover both central government debt and local government debt which China's National Audit Office estimated at RMB 10.72 trillion in 2011; data exclude policy bank bonds Ministry of Railway debt China Asset Management Company debt and non-performing loans
Rank: 163

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

1.5% (2015 est.)
2.1% (2014 est.)

Rank: 105

Central bank discount rate:

2.25% (31 December 2014 est.)
2.25% (31 December 2013 est.)

Rank: 111

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

4.35% (31 December 2015 est.)
5.6% (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 152

Stock of narrow money:

$6.176 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$5.688 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 2

Stock of broad money:

$20.93 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$20.07 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 1

Stock of domestic credit:

$20.53 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$17.6 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 2

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$6.065 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$6.499 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
$5.753 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

Rank: 2

Current account balance:

$293.2 billion (2015 est.)
$219.7 billion (2014 est.)

Rank: 2

Exports:

$2.143 trillion (2015 est.)
$2.244 trillion (2014 est.)

Rank: 2
Commodities: electrical and other machinery including data processing equipment apparel furniture textiles integrated circuits
Partners: US 18% Hong Kong 14.6% Japan 6% South Korea 4.5% (2015)

Imports:

$1.576 trillion (2015 est.)
$1.809 trillion (2014 est.)

Rank: 3
Commodities: electrical and other machinery oil and mineral fuels; nuclear reactor boiler and machinery components; optical and medical equipment metal ores motor vehicles; soybeans
Partners: South Korea 10.9% US 9% Japan 8.9% Germany 5.5% Australia 4.1% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$3.406 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$3.869 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 1

Debt external:

$958.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$959.5 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 17

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:

$1.221 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$1.085 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 7

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:

$1.01 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$888.6 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 12

Exchange rates:

Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar -
6.2275 (2015 est.)
6.1434 (2014 est.)
6.1958 (2013 est.)
6.3123 (2012 est.)
6.4615 (2011 est.)

China - Energy 2016

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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 1,200,000
Access electrification total population: 99.9%
Access electrification urban areas: 100%
Access electrification rural areas: 99.8%
Production: 5.388 trillion kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 1
Consumption: 5.523 trillion kWh (2014)
Consumption rank: 1
Exports: 18.16 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 11
Imports: 6.75 billion kWh (2014)
Imports rank: 35
Installed generating capacity: 1.505 billion kW (2014 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 1
Generation sources fossil fuels: 67.3% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 117
Generation sources nuclear: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 31
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 22.2% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 89
Generation sources other renewable sources: 9% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 41

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 4.278 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 4
Crude oil exports: 12,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 63
Crude oil imports: 6.167 million bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 2
Crude oil proven reserves: 25 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 14

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 10.35 million bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products production rank: 3
Products consumption: 11.12 million bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products consumption rank: 3
Products exports: 593,400 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 9
Products imports: 600,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 12

Natural gas
Production: 123.5 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Production rank: 7
Consumption: 181.1 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 4
Exports: 2.613 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 34
Imports: 60.3 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 5
Proven reserves: 4.945 trillion m³ (1 January 2016 es)
Proven reserves rank: 11

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 8.687 billion Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 1

Energy consumption per capita

China - Communication 2016

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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 230.996 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 17
Fixed lines rank: 1
Mobile cellular total: 1305.738 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 95
Mobile cellular rank: 1

Telephone system
General assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities industrial centers and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure; China in the summer of 2008 began a major restructuring of its telecommunications industry resulting in the consolidation of its six telecom service operators to three China Telecom China Mobile and China Unicom each providing both fixed-line and mobile services
Domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; the number of Internet users now over 50% of the population; a domestic satellite system with several earth stations is in place
International: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia the Middle East Europe and the US; satellite earth stations - 7 (2012)

Broadcast media: all broadcast media are owned by or affiliated with the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV provincial and municipal stations offer more than 2000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department lists subjects that are off limits to domestic broadcast media with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast

Internet
Country code: .cn
Users total: 687.845 million
Users percent of population: 50.3%
Users rank: 1

Broadband fixed subscriptions

China - Military 2016

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Military expenditures:

1.99% of GDP (2012)
2% of GDP (2011)
1.99% of GDP (2010)

Rank: 40

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles; the first class of women warship commanders was in 2011 (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups

China - Transportation 2016

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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 56
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 2,890
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 436,183,969
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 19.806 billion mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: B (2016)

Airports: 507 (2013)
Rank: 14
With paved runways total: 463
With paved runways over 3047 m: 71
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 158
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 123
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 25
With paved runways under 914 m: 86
With unpaved runways total: 44
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18

Heliports: 47 (2013)

Pipelines: condensate 9 km; gas 48,502 km; oil 23,072 km; oil/gas/water 31 km; refined products 15,298 km; water 9 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 191,270 km
Broad gauge: 100 km 1.520-m gauge
Standard gauge: 190,000 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 670 km 1.000-m gauge; 500 km 0.762-m gauge
Rank: 2

Roadways
Total: 4,106,387 km
Paved: 3,453,890 km
Unpaved: 652,497 km
Rank: 3

Waterways: 110,000 km (navigable waterways) (2011)
Rank: 1

Merchant marine
Total: 2,030
By type: barge carrier 7 bulk carrier 621 cargo 566 carrier 10 chemical tanker 140 container 206 liquefied gas 60 passenger 9 passenger/cargo 81 petroleum tanker 264 refrigerated cargo 33 roll on/roll off 8 specialized tanker 2 vehicle carrier 23
Foreign owned: 22
Registered in other countries: 1559 (2010)
Rank: 3

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Dalian Ningbo Qingdao Qinhuangdao Shanghai Shenzhen Tianjin
River port: Guangzhou
Container port: Dalian (6,400,300) Guangzhou (14,260,400) Ningbo (14,719,200) Qingdao (13,020,100) Shanghai (31,739,000) Shenzhen (22,570,800) Tianjin (11,587,600)(2011)
LNG terminal: Fujian Guangdong Jiangsu Shandong Shanghai Tangshan Zhejiang

China - Transnational issues 2016

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Disputes international:

continuing talks and confidence-building measures work toward reducing tensions over Kashmir that nonetheless remains militarized with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin) India (Jammu and Kashmir) and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; China and India continue their security and foreign policy dialogue started in 2005 related to the dispute over most of their rugged militarized boundary regional nuclear proliferation and other matters; China claims most of India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayas; lacking any treaty describing the boundary Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies the largest of which lie in Bhutan's northwest and along the Chumbi salient; Burmese forces attempting to dig in to the largely autonomous Shan State to rout local militias tied to the drug trade prompts local residents to periodically flee into neighboring Yunnan Province in China; Chinese maps show an international boundary symbol off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Seas where China has interrupted Vietnamese hydrocarbon exploration; China asserts sovereignty over Scarborough Reef along with the Philippines and Taiwan and over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia the Philippines Taiwan Vietnam and Brunei; the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea eased tensions in the Spratlys but is not the legally binding code of conduct sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratlys and in March 2005 the national oil companies of China the Philippines and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands;
China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen Rivers are in dispute with North Korea; North Korea and China seek to stem illegal migration to China by North Koreans fleeing privations and oppression by building a fence along portions of the border and imprisoning North Koreans deported by China; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; China and Tajikistan have begun demarcating the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; the decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary was completed in 2009; citing environmental cultural and social concerns China has reconsidered construction of 13 dams on the Salween River but energy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream despite regional and international protests
Chinese and Hong Kong authorities met in March 2008 to resolve ownership and use of lands recovered in Shenzhen River channelization including 96-hectare Lok Ma Chau Loop

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 300,896 (Vietnam); undetermined (North Korea) (2015)
IDPs: undetermined

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic consumption of synthetic drugs and heroin from Southeast and Southwest Asia; source country for methamphetamine and heroin chemical precursors despite new regulations on its large chemical industry; more people believed to be convicted and executed for drug offences than anywhere else in the world according to NGOs (2008)