| Capital: | Beijing. Called Beiping before the First Plenary Session of the CPPCC on September 27, 1949 which made it the capital. |
| Currency: | Renminbi (RMB)/yuan. 1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen = ca 0,10 €. |
| Internet suffix: | .cn |
| Time zone: | GMT +8 |
| Geography: | Covers 9,6 million km², of which 2,8 percent is water. World's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US). Qomolangma (Mount Everest) on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak. |
| Largest city: | Shanghai |
| Flag: | Red with one large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars in arc-formation. |
| Nationality: | Chinese |
| Population: | 1,3 billion (July 2005 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72 years Total fertility rate: 1.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Government type: | Republic |
| Ruling party: | Communist Party of China (CPC) |
| 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). |
| National holiday: | Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949). |
| Ethnic groups: | Han Chinese 92 percent, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8 percent. |
| Religions: | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1-2 percent, Christian 3-4 percent. Officially atheist (2002 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. |
| Literacy: | Over 15 years of age that can read and write, total population: 91 percent. |
| Provinces: | Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunan, Zhejiang, Taiwan |
| Municipalities: | Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin |
| Autonomous regions: | Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet (Xizang), Xinjiang |
| Special Administrative Regions (SAR): | Hong Kong, Macao |