Country profile

China

People's Republic of China · Eastern Asia

👥 Population

1,406,585,000

World Bank · 2025

🏛 Capital

Beijing

🗺 Area

9,706,961 km²

among the world’s largest

💹 GDP (nominal)

$19.5T

World Bank · 2025

📈 HDI

0.797

UNDP · 2023

📍 Pop. density

145 /km²

💱 Currency

CNY

Chinese yuan

🗣 Languages

Chinese

About China

China (officially People's Republic of China) is a country in Eastern Asia, with Beijing as its capital. It is home to roughly 1.41 billion people, giving a population density of about 145 people per square kilometre. The country covers 9,706,961 km² of land and shares land borders with 16 neighbouring countries. Its economy is valued at approximately $19.5T in nominal GDP (2025), and it records a Human Development Index of 0.797. The official currency is the Chinese yuan (CNY), and the main language is Chinese.

How China is governed

🏛 One-party socialist republic

Head of State

President

Head of state; in practice held together with the Party leadership.

Head of Government

Premier

Heads the State Council (government); manages the economy and administration.

Legislature

National People's Congress

Unicameral — National People's Congress — ~2,900 delegates

Who holds the power?

China is a one-party state led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). Formal state institutions — the presidency, the Premier and the National People's Congress — operate under the direction of the Party. Ultimate power rests with the Party's General Secretary, who typically also holds the state presidency and chairs the Central Military Commission, concentrating Party, state and military authority in one person. The National People's Congress is the constitutional legislature but functions largely to ratify Party decisions rather than to check them.

Development profile (each axis 0–100%, higher is stronger)

Key indicators

Latest available data · World Bank & UNDP.

💹 Economy

GDP (PPP)

$38.19T

GDP/capita (PPP)

$27,105

GDP growth

5.0%

Inflation

0.1%

Unemployment

4.6%

👥 People

Life expectancy

78.0 yrs

Fertility rate

1.01

Pop. growth

-0.2%

Urban population

66.3%

Infant mortality /1k

4.1

🌍 Quality of Life

Internet users

91.6%

Literacy rate

96.7%

Physicians /1k

3.11

Renewable energy

15.2%

China's GDP over time (nominal, US$)

Travel & practical

Capital

Beijing

Currency

CNY

Dialing code

+86

Internet TLD

.cn

🌐 Get a China eSIM 🏨 Where to stay in China

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Fun facts about China

China shares land borders with 14 countries — more than almost any other nation.
Despite spanning a huge distance east to west, all of China officially uses a single time zone.
China was the world's most populous country for most of modern history, until India recently overtook it.
China is the 2nd most populous country in the world, with about 1.41 billion people.
By land area it is the 3rd-largest country in the world, covering 9,706,961 km².
It has the world's 2nd-largest economy by nominal GDP ($19.5T).
China shares land borders with 16 countries.