Compare China (2002) - Saudi Arabia (2007)

Compare China (2002) z Saudi Arabia (2007)

	China (2002)	Saudi Arabia (2007)

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	13 provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province), 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk
Age structure	0-14 years: 24.3% (male 163,821,081; female 148,855,387) 15-64 years: 68.4% (male 452,354,428; female 426,055,713) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 43,834,528; female 49,382,568) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 38.2% (male 5,369,285/female 5,162,585) 15-64 years: 59.4% (male 9,316,694/female 7,089,370) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 348,827/female 314,277) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish	wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk
Airports	489 (2001)	213 (2007)
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 (2002)	total: 77 over 3,047 m: 32 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
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 (2002)	total: 136 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 73 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 15 (2007)
Area	total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km	total: 2,149,690 sq km land: 2,149,690 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US	slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US
Background	For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, 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, and output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to be relaxed.	Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman AL SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. A male descendent of Ibn Saud, his son ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz, rules the country today as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational US troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. King ABDALLAH has continued the cautious reform program begun when he was crown prince. To promote increased political participation, the government held elections nationwide from February through April 2005 for half the members of 179 municipal councils. In December 2005, King ABDALLAH completed the process by appointing the remaining members of the advisory municipal councils. The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds approximately 25% of the world's proven oil reserves. The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification, particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in December 2005, and promotes foreign investment in the kingdom. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns.
Birth rate	15.85 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	29.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $161.8 billion expenditures: $191.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)	revenues: $174.8 billion expenditures: $104.1 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Beijing	name: Riyadh geographic coordinates: 24 38 N, 46 43 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north	harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
Coastline	14,500 km	2,640 km
Constitution	most recent promulgation 4 December 1982	governed according to Islamic law; the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was promulgated by royal decree in 1992
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: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conventional short form: Saudi Arabia local long form: Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah local short form: Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
Currency	yuan (CNY)	-
Death rate	6.77 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	2.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$149.4 billion (2002 est.)	$46.6 billion (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr. 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) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang	chief of mission: Ambassador Ford FRAKER embassy: Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693 telephone: [966] (1) 488-3800 FAX: [966] (1) 488-7360 consulate(s) general: Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco	chief of mission: Ambassador Adil al-Ahmad al-JUBAYR chancery: 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 342-3800 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3113 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Disputes - international	in 2000, China joined ASEAN discussions towards creating a South China Sea "code of conduct" - a non-legally binding, confidence-building measure; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but talks to resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001; ongoing talks with Tajikistan have failed to resolve the longstanding dispute over the indefinite boundary; Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation commits Russia and China to seek peaceable unanimity over disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun; 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; demarcation of the land boundary with Vietnam has commenced, but details of the alignment have not been made public; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite	Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the now fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran
Economic aid - donor	-	since 2000, Saudi Arabia has committed $307 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $230 million to development in Afghanistan; pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans to Iraq; pledged $133 million in direct grant aid, $187 million in concessional loans, and $153 million in export credits for Pakistan earthquake relief; pledged a total of $1.59 billion to Lebanon in assistance and deposits to the Central Bank of Lebanon in 2006 and pledged an additional $1.1 billion in early 2007
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	-
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 organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities have switched to a system of household and village 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 2002, with its 1.28 billion people but a GDP of just $4,600 per capita, China stood as the second largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has 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 growing income disparities). 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 subsidies 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 long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to 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. 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. Access to the World Trade Organization strengthens China's ability to maintain sturdy growth rates, and at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Although Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, many observers believe the rate, while strong, is more like 5%.	Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses 25% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 5.5 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors. The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and to increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. The government is promoting private sector and foreign participation in the power generation, telecom, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. As part of its effort to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy, Saudi Arabia acceded to the WTO in December 2005 after many years of negotiations. With high oil revenues enabling the government to post large budget surpluses, Riyadh has substantially boosted spending on job training and education, infrastructure development, and government salaries. The government has announced plans to establish six "economic cities" in different regions of the country to promote development and diversification.
Electricity - consumption	1.206 trillion kWh (2000)	146.9 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	10.25 billion kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	400 million kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	1.308 trillion kWh (2000)	165.6 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 82% hydro: 17% nuclear: 1% other: 0% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 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	desertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills
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	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%	Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Exchange rates	yuan per US dollar - 8.2767 (January 2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997)	Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.745 (2006), 3.747 (2005), 3.75 (2004), 3.75 (2003), 3.75 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Hu Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); 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: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SULTAN bin Abd al- Aziz Al Saud (half brother of the monarch, born 5 January 1928) note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers is appointed by the monarch every four years and includes many royal family members elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; note - a new Allegiance Commission created by royal decree in October 2006 established a committee of Saudi princes that will play a role in selecting future Saudi kings, but the new system will not take effect until after Crown Prince Sultan becomes king
Exports	$312.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)	8.554 million bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels	petroleum and petroleum products 90%
Exports - partners	US 20.4%, Hong Kong 17.5%, Japan 16.9%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 3.7%, Netherlands 2.7%, UK 2.6%, Singapore 2.2%, Taiwan (2001)	Japan 17.7%, US 15.8%, South Korea 9%, China 7.2%, Taiwan 4.6%, Singapore 4.4% (2006)
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	green, a traditional color in Islamic flags, with the Shahada or Muslim creed in large white Arabic script (translated as "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God") above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); design dates to the early twentieth century and is closely associated with the Al Saud family which established the kingdom in 1932
GDP	purchasing power parity - $6 trillion (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 18% industry: 49% services: 33% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 3% industry: 63.6% services: 33.4% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	8% (official estimate) (2002 est.)	4.3% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	35 00 N, 105 00 E	25 00 N, 45 00 E
Geography - note	world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal, is the world's tallest peak; soybean, one of the oldest of cultivated crops, is believed to have originated in China	extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal
Heliports	-	8 (2007)
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% highest 10%: 30% (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	death penalty for traffickers; improving anti-money-laundering legislation and enforcement
Imports	$268.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles
Imports - partners	Japan 17.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 10.8%, South Korea 9.6%, Germany 5.7%, Hong Kong 3.9%, Russia 3.3%, Malaysia 2.5% (2001)	US 12.3%, Germany 8.6%, China 8%, Japan 7.3%, UK 4.9%, Italy 4.8%, South Korea 4.1% (2006)
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)	23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)
Industrial production growth rate	13.5% (2002 est.)	1.9% (2006 est.)
Industries	iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications	crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals; ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, fertilizer, plastics; metals, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair, construction
Infant mortality rate	27.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 12.41 deaths/1,000 live births male: 14.24 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-0.8% (2002 est.)	2.2% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CCC, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO	ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BIS, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	3 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	525,800 sq km (1998 est.)	16,200 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 Council of Justice
Labor force	706 million (2000 est.)	6.311 million note: more than 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 50%, industry 23%, services 27% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 12% industry: 25% services: 63% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 22,147.34 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 4,677 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: 4,431 km border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km
Land use	arable land: 13.31% permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.49% (1998 est.)	arable land: 1.67% permanent crops: 0.09% other: 98.24% (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)	Arabic
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	based on Shari'a law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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	Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura (150 members and a chairman appointed by the monarch for four-year terms); note - though the Council of Ministers announced in October 2003 its intent to introduce elections for half of the members of local and provincial assemblies and a third of the members of the national Consultative Council or Majlis al-Shura, incrementally over a period of four to five years, to date no such elections have been held or announced
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 71.86 years male: 70.02 years female: 73.86 years (2002 est.)	total population: 75.88 years male: 73.85 years female: 78.02 years (2007 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 total population: 78.8% male: 84.7% female: 70.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Map references	Asia	Middle East
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: not specified
Merchant marine	total: 1,764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,915,047 GRT/25,366,296 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 328, cargo 822, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 134, liquefied gas 26, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 45, petroleum tanker 263, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.)	total: 59 ships (1000 GRT or over) 847,094 GRT/1,059,026 DWT by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 15, container 4, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 8 foreign-owned: 10 (Egypt 1, Greece 2, Kuwait 6, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 63 (Bahamas 15, Comoros 1, Dominica 1, France 1, Liberia 24, Marshall Islands 4, Norway 3, Panama 14) (2007)
Military branches	People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia	Land Forces (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$20.048 billion (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending more likely ranges from $45 billion to $65 billion for 2002	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.6% (2002); note - this is the officially announced figure, but actual defense spending is more likely between 3.5% to 5.0% of GDP for 2002	10% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 370,087,489 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 203,003,036 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - military age	18 years of age (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 10,089,458 (2002 est.)	-
National holiday	Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)	Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)
Nationality	noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese	noun: Saudi(s) adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Natural hazards	frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence	frequent sand and dust storms
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)	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Net migration rate	-0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-5.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998)	condensate 212 km; gas 1,880 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,183 km; oil 4,531 km; refined products 1,150 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP	none
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	none
Population	1,284,303,705 (July 2002 est.)	27,601,038 note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	10% (2001 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	0.87% (2002 est.)	2.06% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)	AM 43, FM 31, shortwave 2 (1998)
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 (1999 est.)	total: 1,392 km standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (with branch lines and sidings) (2006)
Religions	Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)	Muslim 100%
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 (2002 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.314 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.196 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 years of age; male
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: modern system domestic: extensive microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable systems international: country code - 966; microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; submarine cable to Djibouti, Egypt and Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	135 million (2000)	4.5 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	65 million (January 2001)	19.663 million (2006)
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)	117 (1997)
Terrain	mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east	mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
Total fertility rate	1.82 children born/woman (2002 est.)	3.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.)	13% among Saudi males only (local bank estimate; some estimates range as high as 25%) (2004 est.)
Waterways	110,000 km (1999)	-

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.