Part 179

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 9,596,960 sq km land : 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries: total: 22,143.34 km border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone : 24 nm continental shelf: claim to shallow areas of East China Sea and Yellow Sea territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 14% other : 33% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 498,720 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts

Environment - current issues: air pollution from the overwhelming use of high-sulfur coal as a fuel, produces acid rain which is damaging forests; water shortages experienced throughout the country, particularly in urban areas; future growth in water usage threatens to outpace supplies; water pollution from industrial effluents; much of the population does not have access to potable water; less than 10% of sewage receives treatment; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species

Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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 signed, but not ratified : Desertification

Geography - note: world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US)

@China:People

Population: 1,221,591,778 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years : 26% (male 166,319,939; female 150,125,798) 15-64 years: 68% (male 427,340,489; female 393,914,502) 65 years and over: 6% (male 36,201,623; female 41,689,427) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.93% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 16.52 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth : 1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 37.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.98 years male: 68.61 years female: 71.5 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1997 est.)