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China
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Coordinates: 35°N 103°E
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"People's Republic of China" redirects here. For the Republic of China, see Taiwan.
"PRC" redirects here. For other uses, see PRC (disambiguation) and China
(disambiguation).
People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国 (Chinese)
Flag
Emblem
Anthem:
义勇军进行曲
Yìyǒngjūn Jìnxíngqǔ
"March of the Volunteers"
Duration: 50 seconds.0:50
Territory controlled by the People's Republic of China is shown in
dark green; territory claimed but not controlled is shown in light
green.
Capital Beijing
39°55′N 116°23′E
Largest city Shanghai
by urban population
Official languages Standard Chinese[a]
Mongolian
Recognized
Tibetan
regional languages
Uyghur
Zhuang
Cantonese
English
Portuguese
Korean
Official script Simplified Chinese[b]
Ethnic groups 91.1% Han Chinese
(2020) [1]
8.9% others
Religion 74.5% no religion / folk
(2020) [2]
18.3% Buddhism
5.2% Christianity
1.6% Islam
0.4% others
Demonym(s) Chinese
Government Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party sociali
st republic
• CCP General Xi Jinping
Secretary[c]
President[d]
CMC Chairman[e]
• Vice President Han Zheng
• Premier Li Qiang
• Congress Chairman Zhao Leji
• CPPCC Chairman[f] Wang Huning
Legislature National People's Congress
Formation
• First pre-imperial c. 2070 BCE
dynasty
• First imperial dynasty 221 BCE
• Establishment of the 1 January 1912
Republic of China
• Proclamation of the 1 October 1949
People's Republic
• First constitution 20 September 1954
• Current constitution 4 December 1982
• Most recent polity 20 December 1999
admitted
Area
• Total 9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi)[g][5] (3rd /
4th)
• Water (%) 2.8[h]
Population
• 2023 estimate 1,409,670,000[7] (2nd)
• Density 145[8]/km2 (375.5/sq mi) (83rd)
GDP (PPP) 2023 estimate
• Total $32.898 trillion[9] (1st)
• Per capita $23,309[9] (73rd)
GDP (nominal) 2023 estimate
• Total $17.701 trillion[i][9] (2nd)
• Per capita $12,541[9] (71st)
Gini (2020) 37.1[10]
medium
HDI (2021) 0.768[11]
high · 79th
Currency Renminbi (元/¥)[j] (CNY)
Time zone UTC+8 (CST)
DST is not observed.
Date format yyyy-mm-dd
or yyyy 年 m 月 d 日
(CE; Chinese calendar)
Driving side right (mainland)
left (Hong Kong and Macau)
Calling code +86 (mainland)
+852 (Hong Kong)
+853 (Macau)
ISO 3166 code CN
Internet TLD .cn
.中国
.中國 (mainland)
.hk
.香港 (Hong Kong)
.mo
.澳门
.澳門 (Macau)
China (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of
China (PRC),[k] is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the
world's second-most-populous country. China spans the equivalent of five time
zones and borders fourteen countries by land.[l] With an area of nearly 9.6 million square
kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third-largest country by total land area.[m] The country
is divided into 22 provinces,[n] five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two semi-
autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the national capital,
while Shanghai is the most populous city and largest financial center.
The region has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. The earliest Chinese dynastic
states, such as the Shang and the Zhou, emerged in the basin of the Yellow River before
the late second millennium BCE. The eighth to third centuries BCE saw a breakdown in
Zhou authority and significant conflict, as well as the emergence of Classical Chinese
literature and philosophy. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor for the first
time, ushering in more than two millennia in which China was governed by one or more
imperial dynasties, including the Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Some of China's most
notable achievements—such as the invention of gunpowder and paper, the establishment
of the Silk Road, and the building of the Great Wall—occurred during this period. The
imperial Chinese culture—including languages, traditions, architecture, philosophy and
more—has heavily influenced East Asia.
In 1912, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of China was established. The
Republic saw consistent conflict for most of the mid-20th century, including a civil
war between the Kuomintang government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),
which began in 1927, as well as the Second Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937 and
continued until 1945, therefore becoming involved in World War II. The latter led to a
temporary stop in the civil war and numerous Japanese atrocities such as the Nanjing
Massacre, which continue to influence China–Japan relations. In 1949, the CCP
established control over China as the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan. Early communist rule
saw two major projects: the Great Leap Forward, which resulted in a sharp economic
decline and massive famine; and the Cultural Revolution, a movement to purge all non-
communist elements of Chinese society that led to mass violence and persecution.
Beginning in 1978, the Chinese government launched economic reforms that moved the
country away from planned economics, but political reforms were cut short by the 1989
Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Economic reform continued to strengthen the
nation's economy in the following decades while raising China's standard of living
significantly.
China is a unitary one-party socialist republic led by the CCP. It is one of the
five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of several
multilateral and regional organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,
the Silk Road Fund, the New Development Bank, and the RCEP. It is a member of
the BRICS, the G20, APEC, the SCO, and the East Asia Summit. China ranks poorly in
measures of democracy, transparency, and human rights, including for press
freedom, religious freedom, and ethnic equality. Making up around one-fifth of the world
economy, China is the world's largest economy by GDP at purchasing power parity,
the second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the second-wealthiest country. The
country is one of the fastest-growing major economies and is the world's largest
manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer, although its economic
growth has slowed greatly in the 2020s. China is a nuclear-weapon state with the
world's largest standing army by military personnel and the second-largest defense
budget.
Etymology
Main article: Names of China
China (today's Guangdong), Mangi (inland of Xanton),
and Cataio (inland of China and Chequan, and including the capital Cambalu, Xandu, and
a marble bridge) are all shown as separate regions on this 1570 map by Abraham
Ortelius.
The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not
used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced
through Portuguese, Malay, and Persian back to the Sanskrit word Cīna, used in ancient
India.[16] "China" appears in Richard Eden's 1555 translation[o] of the 1516 journal of the
Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.[p][16] Barbosa's usage was derived from Persian Chīn (
)چین, which in turn derived from Sanskrit Cīna (चीन).[21] Cīna was first used in
early Hindu scripture, including the Mahabharata (5th century BCE) and the Laws of
Manu (2nd century BCE).[22] In 1655, Martino Martini suggested that the word China is
derived ultimately from the name of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE).[23][22] Although usage in
Indian sources precedes this dynasty, this derivation is still given in various sources.[24] The
origin of the Sanskrit word is a matter of debate.[16] Alternative suggestions include the
names for Yelang and the Jing or Chu state.[22][25]
The official name of the modern state is the "People'
