Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / China (2001) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2006) / Compare countries
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Compare China (2001) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2006)
Compare China (2001) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2006)
| China (2001) | Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau | 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.01% (male 166,754,893; female 151,598,117) 15-64 years: 67.88% (male 445,222,858; female 418,959,646) 65 years and over: 7.11% (male 42,547,296; female 48,028,480) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.4% (male 14,906,488/female 14,798,210)
15-64 years: 50.1% (male 15,597,353/female 15,793,350) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 632,143/female 933,007) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products |
| Airports | 489 (2000 est.) | 234 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
324 over 3,047 m: 27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 88 1,524 to 2,437 m: 147 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
165 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 29 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 78 (2000 est.) |
total: 209
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 94 under 914 m: 97 (2006) |
| Area | total:
9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
total: 2,345,410 sq km
land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
| Background | For centuries China has stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the first half of the 20th century, China was beset by major famines, civil unrest, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the world's second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to weaken. | Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several subsequent sham elections, as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by an insurrection backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; Joseph KABILA remains as president and is joined by four vice presidents representing the former government, former rebel groups, and the political opposition. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005, and plans to hold a series of elections in 2006 to determine the presidency and National Assembly seats. |
| Birth rate | 15.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $700 million
expenditures: $750 million; including capital expenditures of $24 million (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Beijing | name: Kinshasa
geographic coordinates: 4 18 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north | tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October) |
| Coastline | 14,500 km | 37 km |
| Constitution | most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 | 18 February 2006 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC |
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DRC |
| Currency | yuan (CNY) | - |
| Death rate | 6.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $162 billion (2000 est.) | $10.6 billion (2003 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph W. PRUEHER embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3431 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6422 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang |
chief of mission: Ambassador Roger MEECE
embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 43467 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate YANG Jiechi chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Faida MITIFU
chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609 |
| Disputes - international | most of boundary with India in dispute; dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; portions of the boundary with Tajikistan are indefinite; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan | heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to end conflict but unchecked tribal, rebel, and militia fighting continues unabated in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drawing in the neighboring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has maintained over 14,000 peacekeepers in the region since 1999; thousands of Ituri refugees from the Congo continue to flee the fighting primarily into Uganda; 90,000 Angolan refugees were repatriated by 2004 with the remainder in the DRC expected to return in 2005; in 2005, DRC and Rwanda established a border verification mechanism to address accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels and the DRC providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means and bases to attack Rwandan forces; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $2.2 billion (FY03/04) |
| Economy - overview | In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state managers and enterprises has been steadily increasing. The authorities have 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. In 2000, with its 1.26 billion people but a GDP of just $3,600 per capita, China stood as the second largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). 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 and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has 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 many of which had been shielded from competition by subsides and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 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. Weakness in the global economy in 2001 could hamper growth in exports. Beijing will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure--such as water control and power grids--and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. | The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of perhaps 3.5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The transitional government has reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data. Economic stability improved in 2003-05, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of openness in government policy continues to hamper growth. In 2005, renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most exports, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. Business and economic prospects are expected to improve once a new government is installed after elections. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.084 trillion kWh (1999) | 4.324 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 7.2 billion kWh (1999) | 1.3 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 90 million kWh (1999) | 10 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 1.173 trillion kWh (1999) | 6.036 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
79.82% hydro: 18.98% nuclear: 1.2% other: 0.01% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; 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 | poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% | over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population |
| Exchange rates | yuan per US dollar - 8.2776 (January 2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997), 8.3142 (1996)
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 |
Congolese francs per US dollar - 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003), 346.49 (2002), 206.62 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) and Vice President HU Jintao (since 16 March 1998) head of government: Premier ZHU Rongji (since 18 March 1998); Vice Premiers QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and WEN Jiabao (since 18 March 1998) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 16-18 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: JIANG Zemin reelected president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,882 votes (36 delegates voted against him, 29 abstained, and 32 did not vote); HU Jintao elected vice president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,841 votes (67 delegates voted against him, 39 abstained, and 32 did not vote) |
chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, on 16 January 2001, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency; the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the president elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 30 July 2006 with a second round held on 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: results of 29 October 2006 elections (second round); Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42% note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001; negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with free elections held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 where the poplar vote confirmed Joseph KABILA as president |
| Exports | $232 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels | diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt |
| Exports - partners | US 21%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 17%, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Singapore, Taiwan (2000) | Belgium 38.2%, US 17.9%, China 11.7%, France 8%, Finland 7.8%, Chile 4.3% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| 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 | sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 50% services: 35% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 55%
industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 8% (2000 est.) | 7.1% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 105 00 E | 0 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Geography - note | world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US) | straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands |
| Highways | total:
1.4 million km paved: 271,300 km (with at least 16,000 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,128,700 km (1999) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.4% highest 10%: 30.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine | illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
| Imports | $197 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels |
| Imports - partners | Japan 18%, Taiwan 11%, US 10%, South Korea 10%, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia (2000) | South Africa 16.5%, Belgium 16.1%, France 9.1%, Zambia 6.9%, Kenya 5.7%, Germany 4.6%, US 4.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.3%, Netherlands 4.1% (2005) |
| Independence | 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949) | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair |
| Infant mortality rate | 28.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 88.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 96.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.4% (2000 est.) | 9% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 498,720 sq km (1993 est.) | 110 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
| Labor force | 700 million (1998 est.) | 14.51 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 24%, services 26% (1998) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| Land boundaries | total:
22,147.24 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 4,676.9 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km |
total: 10,730 km
border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km |
| Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 14% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.86%
permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005) |
| 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 groups entry) | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
| Legal system | a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law | a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,979 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held NA December 1997-NA February 1998 (next to be held late 2002-NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly (500 seats; 60 elected by majority vote and 440 by open list proportional representation; members serve 5-year terms) and a Senate (120 seats; members elected by indirect vote to serve 5-year terms)
elections: NA; members of the National Assembly were appointed by leaders in the factions integrated into the new government; elections scheduled for 30 July 2006 will establish a new legislature under the February 2006 constitution |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.62 years male: 69.81 years female: 73.59 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 51.46 years
male: 50.01 years female: 52.94 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 81.5% male: 89.9% female: 72.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam | Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
| Map references | Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors |
| Merchant marine | total:
1,745 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,533,521 GRT/24,746,859 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 324, cargo 825, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 132, liquefied gas 24, multi-functional large-load carrier 5, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 45, petroleum tanker 258, refrigerated cargo 22, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 41, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,004 GRT/1,640 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Congo, Republic of the 1) (2006) |
| Military branches | People's Liberation Army (PLA) - which includes Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in wartime) | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $12.608 billion (FY99); note - China's real defense spending may be several times higher than the official figure because a number of significant items are funded elsewhere | $103.7 million (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | 1.5% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
366,306,353 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
200,886,946 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
10,089,458 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) |
| Nationality | noun:
Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
| Natural hazards | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts | periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes |
| Natural resources | coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) | cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber |
| Net migration rate | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DRC in August 1998, which left 2.33 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 412,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998) | gas 54 km; oil 78 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [JIANG Zemin, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP | Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity or FONUS [Joseph OLENGHANKOY]; National Congolese Lumumbist Movement or MNC [Francois LUMUMBA]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR (three factions: MPR-Fait Prive [Catherine NZUZI wa Mbombo]; MPR/Vunduawe [Felix VUNDUAWE]; MPR/Mananga [MANANGA Dintoka Mpholo]); Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI (two factions: UFERI [Lokambo OMOKOKO]; UFERI/OR [Adolph Kishwe MAYA]) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals | NA |
| Population | 1,273,111,290 (July 2001 est.) | 62,660,551
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 10% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | 3.07% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) | AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) |
| Radios | 417 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
67,524 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails) standard gauge: 63,924 km 1.435-m gauge (13,362 km electrified; 20,250 km double track) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m and 1.000-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.) note: a new total of 68,000 km was estimated for early 1999 to take new construction programs into account (1999) |
total: 5,138 km
narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2005) |
| Religions | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.)
note: officially atheist |
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| 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 domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000) |
general assessment: poor
domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 135 million (2000) | 10,600 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 65 million (January 2001) | 2.746 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) | 4 (2001) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | 110,000 km (1999) | 15,000 km (2005) |
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