China
Basic Data in a nutshell
Area
9,596,960 sq km
the third largest country in the world in terms of area
Coastline
14,500 km
Administrative division
23 provinces (sheng), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu), and 4
municipalities (shi)
Note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province
Capital
Beijing
Population / habitat density
1,321,851,888 = 138 habitants/sq km
Population growth rate
0.606%
Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the
Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei
(Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka
dialects, minority languages
Economy
Agriculture products: rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea,
millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish
industries: 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, and aircraft;
telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch
vehicles, satellites
Terrain
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas,
and hills in east
Climate
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complex climatic patterns ranging from the cold-temperate
north to the tropical south resulting in a temperature
difference of some 40°C from north to south
Annual precipitation varies significantly from region to
region, with a high of 1,500 millimeters annually along the
southeastern coast and a low of fewer than 50 millimeters in
the northwest
alternating wet monsoon in the summer and dry monsoon in
winter
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Natural Resources
coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite,
aluminium, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's
largest)
Biodiversity hotspots
(according to Conservation
International)
Mountains of Southwest China, Himalaya, Mountains of Central
Asia
Read more:
- CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
- Human Development Reports: www.undp.org
- biodiversity hotspots: http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/Pages/default.aspx
- Library of Congress/Country Study of China: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/China.pdf
(Sources: CIA World Factbook; Biodiversity hotspots of Conservation International; Country Study China of
the Library of Congress)
(Source: CIA World Factbook)
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Selected indicators of development status
HDI *)
0.777 (rank 81 of 177)
Life expectancy at birth
male: 71.13 years
female: 74.82 years
GDP per capita (UNDP, 2005)
6,757 US$/year
GDP composition by sector
11,00%
40%
49,50%
agriculture
industry
services
Infant mortality
22.12 deaths/1,000 live births
Adult literacy rate (15 years and older)
90.9%
Population using an improved water source 1990/2004
70% / 77%
Children underweight for age (under age 5)
8%
Population below poverty line (2 US$/day)
34.9%
Gini-Index for income distribution **)
0.469
Official Development Assistance (ODA) received
Total amount / per capita (UNDP, 2005)
1,756,900,000 US$
% of ODA in GDP 1990/2005
0.6% / 0.1%
Read more:
- Human Development Reports: www.undp.org
- UNDP Statistics for China: http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_CHN.html
(Sources: UNDP Human Development Report 2007; CIA World Factbook)
*) The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative index of social development status. The HDI is
calculated on the basis of life expectancy, the literacy rate and real purchasing power per capita. The HDI is
expressed as a value between 1 (high) and 0 (low)
**) The Gini coefficient is a measure of personal income distribution within a country or region. It is
expressed as a value between 0 (distribution fully equitable) and 1 (distribution fully inequitable)
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Biological Diversity in China is …
…the diversity of ecosystems:
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The eastern half of the country, its seacoast fringed with offshore
islands, is a region of fertile lowlands, foothills and mountains,
desert, steppes, and subtropical areas
The western half of China is a region of sunken basins, rolling
plateaus, and towering massifs
The Qingzang Plateau (“the roof of the world”): average elevation of
4,500 m, towers over the west of China
Ecosystems of China:
- 212 categories of forests (coniferous, mixed coniferous and broadleaved, deciduous broad-leaved, ever-green broad-leaved and
tropical, as well as their secondary types), 36 categories of bamboo
forests and 113 categories of scrublands
- 77 categories of meadows
- 37 categories of marshlands
- 55 categories of steppes: mainly distributed in temperate regions,
occupying vast areas of the Inner Mongolia Plateau and adjacent
low mountain and hilly areas
- 52 categories of deserts (20% of the national territory): includes
three large basins (Junggar, Tarim, Qaidam) and a high plain (Alxa)
- 17 categories of alpine tundra and cushion-like and talus vegetation
…the diversity between and within species:
forest area (2005): 1,972,900 sq km (20.56% of the national area)
52% of the total land area was naturally forested
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more than 30,000 species of seed plants
over 6,300 species of vertebrates, including 1,244 species of birds
(accounting for 13.7% of the world total), 581 species of mammals,
280 species of amphibians, and 376 species of reptiles
More than 3,862 species of fishes (20% of the world total)
Large numbers of rare and valuable animals and plants (some of
them being called “living fossils”)
more than 1,900 species and types of domesticated animals
about 50,000 varieties of rice and 20,000 soybeans
more than 11,000 species of medicinal and 4,200 species of forages
plants
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high level of endemism (e.g. Giant panda, Golden monkey)
one of twelve megadiverse countries
The total number of China’s cultivated and wild fruit trees ranks first
in the world
Efforts to protect Chinese biodiversity:
- 822 protected areas (2003) which cover 7,8% of the total land area
- 4,7% of total land area (449,390 sq km) are strictly protected (according to IUCN categories I and II)
- 30 Ramsar Sites (i.a. Bitahai Wetland, Dongzhaigang, Maidika), 28 biosphere reserves (i.a. Fenglin, Maolan, Bogeda)
and 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (i.a. Yin Xu, South China Karst, Lushan National Park)
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Read more:
- biodiversity hotspots: http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/Pages/default.aspx
- details of the CBD: http://www.cbd.int/countries/?country=cn
- Global Environmental Outlook of the UNEP (GEO-4): http://www.unep.org/geo/geo4/report/GEO-4_Report_Full_en.pdf
- Biodiversity in German Development Cooperation: www.gtz.de/biodiversity
- State Environmental Protection Administration: http://www.chinacp.com/eng/cporg/cporg_sepa.html
- National Clearing House Mechanism (CHM): http://english.biodiv.gov.cn/
- National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAB) of China:
http://english.biodiv.gov.cn/CBD1/200405/t20040519_90062.htm
- WWF China: http://www.wwfchina.org/english/
- Library of Congress/Country Study of China: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cntoc.html
- Earthtrends Country Profiles: http://earthtrends.wri.org/country_profiles/
- UNESCO World Heritage List: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list
- UNESCO Man and Biosphere: http://www.unesco.org/mab/
- Ramsar Sites: http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf
(Sources: Biodiversity Hotspots of Conservation International; World Resources Insitutute – Earthtrends;
UNDP 2005; NBSAB of China)
Chinas’ current environmental challenges are:
Air pollution from overreliance on coal acid rain
Water shortages, particularly in the north
Water pollution from untreated wastes
deforestation
an estimated loss of 20 percent of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic
development
illegal trade in endangered species
desertification
Forests broken into small, fragmented areas
Rangelands overgrazed and severely degraded
Overexploiting and utilizing animal and plant resources
(Sources: CIA World Factbook; Country Study China of the Library of Congress; NBSAB of China)
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Cultural diversity in China is based on…
…different ethnic groups:
…different religions:
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Han Chinese 91.9%
Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol,
Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Classifications are often based on self-identification
- Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist
- Christian 3%-4%
- Muslim 1%-2%
(Sources: CIA World Factbook; Country Study China of the Library of Congress)
Ecological Footprint
1.6 global ha/person
Biocapacity
0.8 global ha/person
Within the global comparison, China ranges on place no. 43 - see bar chart:
http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator_detail.cfm?IndicatorID=13&Country=CN
(Source: www.footprintnetwork.org)