The People's Republic of China - PRC - is the world's largest country in terms of population.
It is the fourth largest in area with territory that extends over 9.6 million square kilometers.
China has a land border 22,000 kilometers long and a sea border of 18,000 meters.

China has over 6,500 islands and a population of 1.3 billion of whom 92% are Chinese.
The remainder is made up of various minorities.
China is officially defined as an atheistic country.



The natural population increase is 0.7% per annum while the population density varies from one region to another: from 8,000 people per square kilometer in Macau to 2 in Tibet.
Those under the age of 14 represent some 12% of the population while 7% are over the age of 65.
China is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 central administrative authorities and 2 special administrative areas.

Mandarin is the official language.
English is also spoken by some Chinese, particularly the young, many of whom have a good command of the English language.