STATISTICS ABOUT CHINA
Geography Location: Eastern Asia,
bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between
North Korea and Vietnam
Area:
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 22,143.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong
30 km,
India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km,
Laos 423
km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia
(northeast)
3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Coastline: 14,500 km
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 extremes:
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony,
manganese,
molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential
(world's
largest)
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 43%
forests and woodland: 14%
other: 33% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 498,720 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern
coasts);
damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts
Environment—current issues: air pollution (greenhouse gases, particulates)
from the
overwhelming use of high-sulfur coal as a fuel, produces acid rain which is
damaging forests; water
shortages experienced throughout the country, particularly in urban areas and
in the north; future
growth in water usage threatens to outpace supplies; water pollution from industrial
effluents; much
of the population does not have access to potable water; less than 10% of sewage
receives
treatment; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since
1949 to soil erosion
and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Geography—note: world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and
US)
People
Population: 1,236,914,658 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 26% (male 169,347,516; female 149,897,253)
15-64 years: 68% (male 431,164,591; female 404,513,208)
65 years and over: 6% (male 38,398,920; female 43,593,170) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.83% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 15.73 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 45.46 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.59 years
male: 68.32 years
female: 71.06 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu,
Mongol,
Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions: Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.)
note: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect),
Yue
(Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese),
Xiang, Gan,
Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.5%
male: 89.9%
female: 72.7% (1995 est.)
Government
Country conventional name: People's Republic of China
Government type: Communist state
National capital: Beijing
Economy
Economy—overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been
trying to move the
economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented
economy but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control.
To this end the
authorities switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture
in place of the old
collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers
in industry, permitted a
wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing,
and opened the economy
to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling
of GDP since 1978.
Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and industry also posted major gains,
especially in
coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment helped
spur output
of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership has often
experienced in its
hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption)
and of capitalism
(windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked,
retightening
central controls at intervals. In 1992-97 annual growth of GDP accelerated,
particularly in the
coastal areas—averaging about 10% annually according to official figures.
In late 1993 China's
leadership approved additional long-term reforms aimed at giving still more
play to
market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over
the financial system; state
enterprises would continue to dominate many key industries in what was now termed
"a socialist
market economy." In 1995-97 inflation dropped sharply, reflecting tighter
monetary policies and
stronger measures to control food prices. At the same time, the government struggled
to (a) collect
revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption
and other
economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, most
of which had not
participated in the vigorous expansion of the economy and many of which have
been losing the
ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 60 to 100 million surplus rural
workers are adrift
between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying
jobs. Popular
resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres
have weakened China's
population control program, which is essential to maintaining growth in living
standards. Another
long-term threat to continued rapid economic growth is the deterioration in
the environment,
notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table
especially in the north.
China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development;
furthermore,
the regime gives insufficient priority to agricultural research. The next few
years may witness
increasing tensions between a highly centralized political system and an increasingly
decentralized
economic system. Rapid economic growth likely will continue but at a declining
rate. Hong Kong's
reversion on 1 July 1997 to Chinese administration will strengthen the already
close ties between
the two economies.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$4.25 trillion (1997 estimate as extrapolated
from World Bank
estimate for 1995 with use of official Chinese growth figures for 1996-97; the
result may overstate
China's GDP by as much as 25%)
GDP—real growth rate: 8.8% (1997 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$3,460 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 49%
services: 31% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate—consumer price index: 2.8% (1997 est.)
Labor force:
total: 623.9 million (1995)
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 53%, industry and commerce 26%, construction
and
mining 7%, social services 4%, other 10% (1995)
Unemployment rate: officially 4% in urban areas; probably 8%-10%; substantial
unemployment
and underemployment in rural areas (1997 est.)
Industries: iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and
apparel, petroleum,
cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, autos, consumer
electronics,
telecommunications
Agriculture—products: rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet,
barley, cotton, other
fibers, oilseed; pork and other livestock products; fish
Exports:
total value: $182.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: electrical machinery, clothing, footwear, toys, mineral fuels,
leather, plastics, fabrics
(1997)
partners: Hong Kong, US, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands (1997)
Imports:
total value: $142.4 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities: mechanical appliances, electrical machinery, mineral fuels, plastics,
iron and steel,
fabrics, cotton and yarn (1997)
partners: Japan, Taiwan, US, South Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore (1997)
Debt—external: $131 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $1.977 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 yuan (¥) = 10 jiao
Exchange rates: yuan (¥) per US$1—8.2796 (December 1997), 8.2898 (1997),
8.3142
(1996), 8.3514 (1995), 8.6187 (1994), 5.7620 (1993)
note: beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint
rate against the
US dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign
exchange market
More information
about China
PEOPLE GROUPS OF CHINA
Hui Bethany, , WCI Profile
More People Groups of China AD2000, Bethany,
(Hui pronounced "whey")
WHO ARE THEY?
The Hui comprise the largest Muslim minority in China, numbering over 9 million. This culturally and politically influential people group can be found throughout China with their heaveist concentrations located in the Northwest regions.
Present day Hui are descendants of Arab and Persian soldiers who were brought as mercentaries to China in the 8th century to put down an internal uprising. Afterwards they remained in China, marrying Chinese women and continuing in their Islamic faith.
WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?
Hui people make a living either as farmers in the rural areas or as laborers or business people in the urban areas. Over one-third of the Hui are illiterate or semi-literate as a result of their traditional reluctance to send girls to school. They adhere to a pure and true lifestyle, including eating no pork, which sets them apart from many of their neighbors. Their diets consist of rice, flour, beef, mutton and chicken. The government rewards "late" marriages and having only one child per couple. Hui women cannot marry non-Hui men; however, Hui men can marry non-Hui women as long as they are willing to follow their Islamic practices.
There is great social pressure and fear of their religious leaders. The mosque and its related activities remain the primary hub of their lives
PRESENT RELIGIOUS CLIMATE AND POTENTIAL FOR EVANGELISM?
The Chinese government favors Islam. As political ties are developed and strengthened between China and the Islamic world, Muslims from the Middle East and Central Asia are exerting an increasing influence on the Hui.
Presently less than 1% of the 9+ million Hui population is known to be Christian with the remainder being comprised of 90% Muslim and a little over 9% No Religion. There is great reluctance on the part of Chinese Muslims to convert to Christianity, as persecution often follows such decisions. Only 29% of the Hui have been evangelized, coming through sources outside of the country. This leaves more than 6 million Hui who have never heard the Gospel -- making them one of the least evangelized peoples in the world![1]
Please pray with us for the Lord to raise up those who are willing to go and share the Gospel with these people who need Him so desperately, and pray that the chains that bind the Muslim Hui would be broken so that their hearts would be open to the Truth.
[1] Statistics taken from ‘97 World Evangelism Research Center
