Background: China's historical 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. 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 Chinese Communist Party 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 but political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.

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: 5
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

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 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: -154 m
Note: lowest point: Turpan Pendi

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
Agricultural land: 54.7% (2011 est.)
Forest: 22.3% (2011 est.)
Other: 23% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 690,070 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidencevolcanism: 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

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 above sea level

Population
Distribution: 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 other countries in Asia and Europe; 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: 1,384,688,986 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 1
Growth rate: 0.37% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 165
Below poverty line:

Nationality
Noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups:

Languages:

Religions:

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.22% (male 128,270,371 /female 110,120,535)
15-24 years: 12.32% (male 91,443,139 /female 79,181,726)
25-54 years: 47.84% (male 338,189,015 /female 324,180,103)
55-64 years: 11.35% (male 79,340,391 /female 77,857,806)
65 years and over: 11.27% (male 74,277,631 /female 81,828,269) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 37.7 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 24.3 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 13.3 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 7.5 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 37.7 years
Male: 36.8 years
Female: 38.8 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 64

Population growth rate: 0.37% (2018 est.)
Rank: 165

Birth rate: 12.1 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 161

Death rate: 8 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 89

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 119

Population distribution: 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 other countries in Asia and Europe; 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

Urbanization
Urban population: 59.2% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 2.42% annual rate of change: note: data do not include Hong Kong and Macau

Major urban areas
Population: 25.582 million Shanghai, 19.618 million BEIJING (capital), 14.838 million Chongqing, 12.683 million Guangdong, 13.215 million Tianjin, 11.908 million Shenzhen (2018)

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; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leads to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and 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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.14 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.17 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.14 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 11.8 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 12.2 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 11.4 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 118

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.8 years (2018 est.)
Male: 73.7 years (2018 est.)
Female: 78.1 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 100

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 181

Drinking water source
Urban: 2.5% of population
Rural: 7% of population
Total: 4.5% of population (2015 est.)

Physicians density: 3.63 physicians/1000 population (2015)

Hospital bed density: 4.2 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 13.4% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 36.3% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 23.5% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

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

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 6.2% (2016)
Rank: 169

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.4% (2013)
Rank: 107

Education expenditures
Note: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Total population: 96.4% (2015 est.)
Male: 98.2% (2015 est.)
Female: 94.5% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years (2015)
Male: 14 years (2015)
Female: 14 years (2015)

Country name
Conventional long form: Peoples 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 (Chin) rulers of the 3rd century B.C., who comprised the first imperial dynasty of ancient China; the Chinese name Zhongguo translates as Central Nation or Middle Kingdom

Government type: communist party-led state

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E
Time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Capital: Beijing: note: despite its size, all of China falls within one time zone

Administrative divisions:

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

Constitution
History: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982 (2018)
Amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress or supported by more than one-fifth of the National People’s Congress membership; passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the Congress membership; amended several times, last in 2018 (2018)

Legal system: civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; note - in early 2017, the National People's Congress took the first step in adopting a new civil code by passing the General Provisions of the Civil Law

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
Head of government: Premier LI Keqiang (since 16 March 2013); Executive Vice Premiers HAN Zheng (since 19 March 2018), SUN Chunlan (since 19 March 2018), LIU He (since 19 March 2018), HU Chunhua (since 19 March 2018)
Cabinet: State Council appointed by National Peoples Congress
Electionsappointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by National Peoples Congress for a 5-year term (unlimited terms); election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023); premier nominated by president, confirmed by National Peoples Congress
Election results: XI Jinping reelected president; National Peoples Congress vote - 2,970 (unanimously); WANG Qishan elected vice president with 2,969 votes: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013); Vice President WANG Qishan (since 17 March 2018)

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Peoples Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (maximum of 3,000 seats; members indirectly elected by municipal, regional, and provincial peoples congresses, and the Peoples Liberation Army; members serve 5-year terms); note - in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected
Elections: last held in December 2017-February 2018 (next to be held in late 2022 to early 2023)
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 2,238, women 742, percent of women 24.9%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Peoples Court (consists of over 340 judges including the chief justice, 13 grand justices organized into a civil committee and tribunals for civil, economic, administrative, complaint and appeal, and communication and transportation cases); note - in late December 2016, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth circuit courts of the Supreme Peoples Court began operation
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the Peoples National Congress (NPC); 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 Peoples Courts; Intermediate Peoples Courts; District and County Peoples Courts; Autonomous Region Peoples Courts; International Commercial Courts; Special Peoples Courts for military, maritime, transportation, and forestry issues: note: in late 2014, China unveiled planned judicial reforms

Political parties and leaders:

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, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador CUI Tiankai (since 3 April 2013)
In the us chancery: 3,505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 495-2,266
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 495-2,138
In the us consulate: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Terry BRANSTAD (since 12 July 2017)
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] (10) 8,531-3,000
From the us FAX: [86] (10) 8,531-3,300
From the us consulate: 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, giant panda; national colors: red, yellow

National anthem
Name: Yiyongjun Jinxingqu (The March of the Volunteers)
Lyricsmusic: TIAN Han/NIE Er: note: adopted 1949; the anthem, though banned during the Cultural Revolution, is more commonly known as 'Zhongguo Guoge' (Chinese National Song); it was originally the theme song to the 1935 Chinese movie, 'Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm'

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. China has implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion, resulting in efficiency gains that have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. 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 continues to pursue an industrial policy, state support of key sectors, and a restrictive investment regime. From 2013 to 2017, China had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, averaging slightly more than 7% real growth per year. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, China in 2017 stood as the largest economy in the world, surpassing the US in 2014 for the first time in modern history. China became the world's largest exporter in 2010, and the largest trading nation in 2013. Still, China's per capita income is below the world average.In July 2005 moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. From mid-2005 to late 2008, the renminbi (RMB) appreciated more than 20% against the US dollar, but the exchange rate remained virtually pegged to the dollar from the onset of the global financial crisis until June 2010, when Beijing announced it would resume a gradual appreciation. From 2013 until early 2015, the renminbi held steady against the dollar, but it depreciated 13% from mid-2015 until end-2016 amid strong capital outflows; in 2017 the RMB resumed appreciating against the dollar - roughly 7% from end-of-2016 to end-of-2017. 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. However, since late 2015 the Chinese Government has strengthened capital controls and oversight of overseas investments to better manage the exchange rate and maintain financial stability.The Chinese Government faces numerous economic challenges including: (a) reducing its high domestic savings rate and correspondingly low domestic household consumption; (b) managing its high corporate debt burden to maintain financial stability; (c) controlling off-balance sheet local government debt used to finance infrastructure stimulus; (d) facilitating higher-wage job opportunities for the aspiring middle class, including rural migrants and college graduates, while maintaining competitiveness; (e) dampening speculative investment in the real estate sector without sharply slowing the economy; (f) reducing industrial overcapacity; and (g) raising productivity growth rates through the more efficient allocation of capital and state-support for innovation. Economic development has progressed further in coastal provinces than in the interior, and by 2016 more than 169.3 million migrant workers and their dependents had relocated to urban areas to find work. One consequence of China’s population control policy known as the 'one-child policy' - which was relaxed in 2016 to permit all families to have two children - 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 urbanization. The Chinese Government is seeking to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil, focusing on natural gas, nuclear, and clean energy development. In 2016, China ratified the Paris Agreement, a multilateral agreement to combat climate change, and committed to peak its carbon dioxide emissions between 2025 and 2,030The government's 13th Five-Year Plan, unveiled in March 2016, emphasizes the need to increase innovation and boost domestic consumption to make the economy less dependent on government investment, exports, and heavy industry. However, China has made more progress on subsidizing innovation than rebalancing the economy. Beijing has committed to giving the market a more decisive role in allocating resources, but the Chinese Government’s policies continue to favor state-owned enterprises and emphasize stability. Chinese leaders in 2010 pledged to double China’s GDP by 2020, and the 13th Five Year Plan includes annual economic growth targets of at least 6.5% through 2020 to achieve that goal. 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. Chinese leaders also have undermined some market-oriented reforms by reaffirming the 'dominant' role of the state in the economy, a stance that threatens to discourage private initiative and make the economy less efficient over time. The slight acceleration in economic growth in 2017—the first such uptick since 2010—gives Beijing more latitude to pursue its economic reforms, focusing on financial sector deleveraging and its Supply-Side Structural Reform agenda, first announced in late 2015.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 1

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 21

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 105

Gross national saving:
Rank: 6

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 39.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 14.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 42.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 20.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -18.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.9% (2017 est.)
Industry: 40.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 51.6% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: world leader in gross value of agricultural output; rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, apples, cotton, pork, mutton, eggs; fish, shrimp

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; 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

Industrial production growth rate: 6.1% (2017 est.)
Rank: 40

Labor force:
Rank: 1
By occupation agriculture: 27.7%
By occupation industry: 28.8%
By occupation services: 43.5% (2016 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 48

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 31.4% (2012)
Highest 10: 31.4% (2012): note: data are for urban households only

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 31

Budget
Revenues: 2.553 trillion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 3.008 trillion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -3.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 152

Taxes and other revenues: 21.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 141

Public debt:
Rank: 111

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 88

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 117

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 160

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 1

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 1

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 1

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 2

Current account balance:
Rank: 3

Exports:
Rank: 1
Partners: US 19%, Hong Kong 12.4%, Japan 6%, South Korea 4.5% (2017)
Commodities: electrical and other machinery, including computers and telecommunications equipment, apparel, furniture, textiles

Imports:
Rank: 2
Commodities: electrical and other machinery, including integrated circuits and other computer components, oil and mineral fuels; optical and medical equipment, metal ores, motor vehicles; soybeans
Partners: South Korea 9.7%, Japan 9.1%, US 8.5%, Germany 5.3%, Australia 5.1% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 1

Debt external:
Rank: 14

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 7

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 10

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 1.2 million (2016)
Access electrification total population: 99.9% (2016)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2016)
Access electrification rural areas: 99.8% (2016)
Production: 5.883 trillion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 1
Consumption: 5.564 trillion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 1
Exports: 18.91 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 10
Imports: 6.185 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 33
Installed generating capacity: 1.653 billion kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 1
Generation sources fossil fuels: 62% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 124
Generation sources nuclear: 2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 25
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 18% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 93
Generation sources other renewable sources: 18% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 47

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 3.838 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 7
Crude oil exports: 57,310 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 40
Crude oil imports: 6.71 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 2
Crude oil proven reserves: 25.63 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 12

Refined petroleum
Products production: 11.51 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 2
Products consumption: 12.47 million bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 2
Products exports: 848,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 9
Products imports: 1.16 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 4

Natural gas
Production: 145.9 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 6
Consumption: 238.6 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 3
Exports: 3.37 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 35
Imports: 97.63 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 3
Proven reserves: 5.44 trillion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 9

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 11.67 billion Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 1

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 193.762 million (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 1,474,097,000 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 107 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 1

Telephone system
General assessment: China has become the largest Internet market in the world, with the majority of users accessing the Internet through mobile devices; moderate growth is predicted over the next five years in the fixed broadband segment; one of the biggest drivers of commercial growth is its increasing urbanisation rate as rural residents move to cities; 80% of Chinas Internet users access the Internet through mobile devices; by 2015 China will be the worlds largest 5G market (2017)
Domestic: 14 per 100 fixed line and 107 per 100 moblie-cellular; a domestic satellite system with several earth stations is in place in 2018 (2017)
International: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean; 1 Intersputnik - Indian Ocean region; and 1 Inmarsat - Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2017)

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 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department sends directives to all domestic media outlets to guide (2017)

Internet
Country code: .cn
Users total: 730,723,960 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 53.2% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 1

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 378.54 million (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 27 (2017 est.)
Rank: 1

Military expenditures:
Rank: 50

Military service age and obligation: 18-22 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 (2018)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 56 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 2,890 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 436,183,969 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 19.806 billion
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: B (2016)

Airports: 507 (2013)
Rank: 14
With paved runways total: 463 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 71 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 158 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 123 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 25 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 86 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 44 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 4 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18 (2013)

Heliports: 47 (2013)

Pipelines: 70,000 km gas, 22,900 km crude oil, 25,500 km refined petroleum products, 710,206 km water (2015)

Railways
Total: 124,000 km (2017)
Standard gauge: 124,000 km
Note: 1.435-m gauge (80,000 km electrified); 102,000 traditional 22,000 high-speed (2017)
Rank: 2

Roadways
Total: 4,577,300 km (2015)
Paved: 4,046,300 km
Note: (includes 123,500 km of expressways) (2015)
Unpaved: 531,000 km (2015)
Rank: 3

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

Merchant marine
Total: 4,287 (2017)
By type: bulk carrier 1069, container ship 198, general cargo 697, oil tanker 480, other 1843 (2017)
Rank: 4

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Dalian, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin
Container port: Dalian (9,614,000), Guangzhou (18,857,700), Ningbo (21,560,000), Qingdao (18,010,000), Shanghai (37,133,000), Shenzhen (23,979,300), Tianjin (14,490,000) (2016)
LNG terminal: Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanghai, Tangshan, Zhejiang
River port: Guangzhou (Pearl)

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 1964China 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 mattersChina claims most of India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayaslacking 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 most contentious of which lie in Bhutan's west along China's Chumbi salientBurmese 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 ChinaChinese maps show an international boundary symbol off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Seas, where China has interrupted Vietnamese hydrocarbon explorationChina asserts sovereignty over Scarborough Reef along with the Philippines and Taiwan, and over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Bruneithe 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 partiesVietnam 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 and ASEAN began formal South China Sea Code of Conduct negotiations in March 2018, but it

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 321,502 (Vietnam), undetermined (North Korea) (2017)
IDPs: undetermined (2014)

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