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Compare China (2006) - Poland (2003)
Compare China (2006) z Poland (2003)
| China (2006) | Poland (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau |
16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.8% (male 145,461,833/female 128,445,739)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 482,439,115/female 455,960,489) 65 years and over: 7.7% (male 48,562,635/female 53,103,902) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.5% (male 3,458,844; female 3,284,995)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 13,407,012; female 13,547,728) 65 years and over: 12.7% (male 1,879,445; female 3,044,636) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork |
| Airports | 486 (2006) | 150 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 403
over 3,047 m: 56 2,438 to 3,047 m: 127 1,524 to 2,437 m: 138 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 60 (2006) |
total: 88
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 83
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 39 (2006) |
total: 62
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 43 (2002) |
| Area | total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US | slightly smaller than New Mexico |
| 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, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system 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 and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation, until an agreement in 1772 between Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and is scheduled to accede to the European Union along with nine other states on 1 May 2004. |
| Birth rate | 13.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.47 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $392.1 billion
expenditures: $424.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $49.6 billion
expenditures: $52.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
| Capital | name: Beijing
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 116 24 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: despite its size, all of China falls within one time zone |
Warsaw |
| Climate | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
| Coastline | 14,500 km | 491 km |
| Constitution | most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 | 16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 1997 |
| Country name | conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhongguo abbreviation: PRC |
conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
| Currency | - | zloty (PLN) |
| Death rate | 6.97 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.96 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $252.8 billion (2005 est.) | $64 billion (2002) |
| 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) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-3178 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang |
chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher R. HILL
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw P1 mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2951 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong
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, San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
| Disputes - international | in 2005, China and India began drafting principles to resolve all aspects of their extensive boundary and territorial disputes together with a security and foreign policy dialogue to consolidate discussions related to the boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; recent talks and confidence-building measures have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; about 90,000 ethnic Tibetan exiles reside primarily in India as well as Nepal and Bhutan; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions in the Spratlys but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratlys and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan have become more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is considered indefinite; China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans; China and Russia prepare to demarcate the boundary agreed to in October 2004 between the long-disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri; demarcation of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation has been delayed; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province | small boundary changes made with Slovakia in 2003 |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | EU structural adjustment funds |
| Economy - overview | China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy. Reforms started in the late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivized agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, the foundation of a diversified banking system, the development of stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector, and the opening to foreign trade and investment. China has generally implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal fashion. The process continues with key moves in 2005 including the sale of equity in China's largest state banks to foreign investors and refinements in foreign exchange and bond markets. The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2005 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still lower middle-income and 150 million Chinese fall below international poverty lines. Economic development has generally been more rapid in coastal provinces than in the interior, and there are large disparities in per capita income between regions. The government has struggled to: (a) sustain adequate job growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) contain environmental damage and social strife related to the economy's rapid transformation. From 100 to 150 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. One demographic consequence of the "one child" policy is that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. 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. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer Internet use, with more than 100 million users at the end of 2005. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable expansion in world trade and has been an important factor in the growth of urban jobs. In July 2005, China revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. Reports of shortages of electric power in the summer of 2005 in southern China receded by September-October and did not have a substantial impact on China's economy. More power generating capacity is scheduled to come on line in 2006 as large scale investments are completed. Thirteen years in construction at a cost of $24 billion, the immense Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River will be essentially completed in 2006 and will revolutionize electrification and flood control in the area. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2005 approved the draft 11th Five-Year Plan and the National People's Congress is expected to give final approval in March 2006. The plan calls for a 20% reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010 and an estimated 45% increase in GDP by 2010. The plan states that conserving resources and protecting the environment are basic goals, but it lacks details on the policies and reforms necessary to achieve these goals. | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by structural problems, surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled due to a lack of political will on the part of the government. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger than expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on privatization of Poland's remaining state sector, the reduction of state employment, and an overhaul of the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers most of whom pay no tax. The government's determination to enter the EU has shaped most aspects of its economic policy and new legislation; in June 2003, 77% of the voters approved membership, now scheduled for May 2004. Improving Poland's export competitiveness and containing the internal budget deficit are top priorities. Due to political uncertainty, the zloty has recently depreciated in relation to the euro and the dollar while currencies of the other euro-zone aspirants have been appreciating. GDP per capita equals that of the 3 Baltic states. |
| Electricity - consumption | 2.17 trillion kWh (2004) | 118.8 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 10.6 billion kWh (2003) | 11.04 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.546 billion kWh (2003) | 4.306 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 2.19 trillion kWh (2004) | 135 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 98.1%
hydro: 1.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 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 | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% | Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%, Belarusian 0.5% (1990 est.) |
| Exchange rates | yuan per US dollar - 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001) | zlotych per US dollar - 3.99 (2002), 4.09 (2001), 4.35 (2000), 3.97 (1999), 3.48 (1998)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
| 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); Executive Vice Premier HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), Vice Premiers WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (four delegates voted against him, four abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); two seats were vacant |
chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Leszek MILLER (SLD) (since 19 October 2001), Deputy Prime Ministers Marek POL (since 19 October 2001), Jerzy HAUSNER (since 11 June 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
| Exports | 340,300 bbl/day (2004) | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel | machinery and transport equipment 30.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 25.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 20.9%, food and live animals 8.5% (1999) |
| Exports - partners | US 21.4%, Hong Kong 16.3%, Japan 11%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.3% (2005) | Germany 33%, Italy 5.7%, France 5%, UK 4.8%, Czech Republic 4.3% (2002) |
| 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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $373.2 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.5%
industry: 47.3% services: 40.3% note: industry includes construction (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 35% services: 61.2% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 10.2% (official data) (2005 est.) | 1.4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 105 00 E | 52 00 N, 20 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 | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
| Heliports | 32 (2006) | 3 (2002) |
| Highways | - | total: 364,656 km
paved: 249,060 km (including 358 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,596 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine | major illicit producer of amphetamine for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe |
| Imports | 3.226 million bbl/day (2004) | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, iron and steel | machinery and transport equipment 38.2%, intermediate manufactured goods 20.8%, chemicals 14.3%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
| Imports - partners | Japan 15.2%, South Korea 11.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 7.4%, Germany 4.6% (2005) | Germany 29.9%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.4%, France 7.2%, Netherlands 5.3% (2002) |
| Independence | 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established) | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 29.5% (2005 est.) | 0.3% (2001) |
| 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 | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 23.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 8.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 1.9% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BCIE, BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 19 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 545,960 sq km (2003) | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| 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 (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) |
| Labor force | 791.4 million (2005 est.) | 17.6 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 49%
industry: 22% services: 29% (2003 est.) |
industry 22.1%, agriculture 27.5%, services 50.4% (1999) |
| Land boundaries | total: 22,117 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 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 regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km |
total: 2,788 km
border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km |
| Land use | arable land: 14.86%
permanent crops: 1.27% other: 83.87% (2005) |
arable land: 45.81%
permanent crops: 1.23% other: 52.96% (1998 est.) |
| 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) | Polish |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA |
bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) and the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Sejm elections last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005); Senate - last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - SLD-UP 41%, PO 12.7%, Samoobrona 10.2%, PiS 9.5%, PSL 9%, LPR 7.9%, AWSP 5.6% UW 3.1%, other 1%; seats by party (as of 25 April 2003) - SLD 193, PO 57, Samoobrona 39, PiS 43, PSL 39, LPR 28, UP 16, SKL 8, PLD 6, PBL 5, RKN 5, PP 3, ROP 3, German minorities 2, independents 13; note - SLD and UP ran together on electoral lists in the 2001 elections, but constitute separate parliamentary clubs in the Sejm; several other deputies have left their parties and set up other parliamentary factions; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SLD-UP 75, AWSP (an electoral alliance of some 36 parties) 15, PSL 4, Samoobrona 2, LPR 2, independents 2 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.58 years
male: 70.89 years female: 74.46 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 73.91 years
male: 69.77 years female: 78.28 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9% male: 95.1% female: 86.5% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam | Central Europe, east of Germany |
| Map references | Asia | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | total: 1,723 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,405,633 GRT/32,411,260 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 387, cargo 695, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 152, liquefied gas 31, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 83, petroleum tanker 261, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 14 foreign-owned: 13 (Hong Kong 7, Japan 3, South Korea 2, Norway 1) registered in other countries: 1,191 (Bahamas 3, Bangladesh 1, Belize 103, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 128, Cyprus 11, Georgia 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 274, India 2, North Korea 1, Liberia 35, Malaysia 1, Malta 14, Mongolia 4, Norway 3, Panama 420, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 103, Sierra Leone 2, Singapore 23, Thailand 1, Tuvalu 23, unknown 33) (2006) |
total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 199,186 GRT/275,476 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes airborne forces), and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP); Reserve and Militia Forces (2006) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $81.48 billion (2005 est.) | $3.5 billion (2002) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.3% (2005 est.) | 1.71% (2002) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 10,354,978 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 8,077,706 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 343,500 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
| Nationality | noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
| Natural hazards | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence | flooding |
| 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) | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
| Net migration rate | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 22,664 km; oil 15,256 km; refined products 6,106 km (2006) | gas 12,901 km; oil 737 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Citizens Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL-RNP [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Leszek MILLER]; Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Bloc or PBL [Wojciech MOJZESOWICZ]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw KALINOWSKI]; Samoobrona [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Marek POL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Maciej MANICKI]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] |
| Population | 1,313,973,713 (July 2006 est.) | 38,622,660 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 10% (2001 est.) | 18.4% (2000 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.59% (2006 est.) | 0% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Ustka, Warsaw, Wroclaw |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 74,408 km
standard gauge: 74,408 km 1.435-m gauge (19,303 km electrified) (2004) |
total: 23,420 km
broad gauge: 646 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 21,639 km 1.435-m gauge (11,626 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,135 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (2002) |
| Religions | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.) |
Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| 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: country code - 86; 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: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use
domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 350.433 million (2005) | 8.07 million (1998) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 393.428 million (2005) | 13 million (2002) |
| 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) | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
| Total fertility rate | 1.73 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.37 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9% official registered unemployment in urban areas in 2004; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2005 est.) | 18.1% (2002) |
| Waterways | 123,964 km (2003) | 3,812 km (navigable rivers and canals) (1996) |
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