China at
a Glance
Demographic
Background
Location
Eastern Asia,
bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China
Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Total
Area
9,596,960 sq
km
Population
Currency
Yuan (CNY)
Capital
Beijing
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.
Population and its Composition
(in 10 Thousands)
1980
1985
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Total Population
98,705
105,851
118,517
119,850
121,120
122,389
123,626
Urban Proportion (%)
19
23
28
28
29
29
30
Rural Proprotion (%)
81
77
72
72
71
71
70
Economic Background
Economic Indicators
*
(All figures are in billions of RMB )
Main indicators
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
4,675.9
5,847.8
6,788.5
7,477.2
7,955.3
8,319.0
Real GDP growth
12.6
10.5
9.6
8.8
7.8
7.1
Retail price index
21.7
14.8
6.1
0.8
-2.6
-2.9
Consumer price index
24.1
17.1
8.3
2.8
0.8
-1.3
Urban per capita income (RMB)
3,496.2
4,283.0
4,838.9
5,160.3
5,425.0
5,859.0
Rural per capita income (RMB)
1,221.0
1,577.7
1,926.0
2,090.1
2,160.0
2,205.0
Urban unemployment rate (%)*
2.8
2.9
3.0
3.1
3.1
3.1
Financial indicators
Exchange rate (RMB/$)
8.6
8.4
8.3
8.0
8.3
8.3
Foreign exchange reserves (US$ billion)
51.6
73.6
105.0
139.9
145.0
154.7
Government revenue (total)
5,218.1
6,242.2
7,408.0
8,651.1
985.3
--
tax revenue
5,126.9
6,038.0
6,909.8
8,234.0
855.1
1,031.1
Domestic debt (Treasury bond issues)
102.9
151.1
184.8
241.2
270.0
60.0
Foreign debt (US$ billion)
9.3
10.6
11.6
13.1
--
--
Government deficit
57.5
58.2
53.0
57.0
96.0
--
1,200,000,000 
