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 UN estimates the July 1, 2023 population at 1,416,096,094.
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.