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China

People's Republic of China · Eastern Asia

Position of China on a world map

At a glance

CapitalBeijing
Most common first languageMandarin Chinese66% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languageMandarin Chinese
Currencyrenminbi
Drives on theright
Highest pointMount Everest8,848 m
Biggest category of goods exportedmanufactured goods91% of goods exports, 2024
Services share of exports9.3%of everything sold abroad, 2025
Internet domain.cn

Facts about China

China spans five time zones but keeps a single official clock.

Source: Beijing Time observed nationwide · checked 2026-08-08

China holds the biggest stockpile of other countries' money.

Source: english.scio.gov.cn · checked 2026-08-08

China mines the most gold.

Source: pubs.usgs.gov · checked 2026-08-08

China files the most international patent applications each year.

Source: natlawreview.com · checked 2026-08-08

China manufactures the most motor vehicles.

Source: oica.net · checked 2026-08-08

China by the numbers

Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.

MeasureValueRank
PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year.1.41bn (2025)2nd
of 209
GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices.$19.5tn (2025)2nd
of 203
Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory.9.39m km² (2023)2nd
of 209
Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations.$314bn (2024)2nd
of 151
Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined.$4.11tn (2025)1st
of 180
Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents.1.87bn (2024)1st
of 205
Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive.2.26m km² (2023)5th
of 203
Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture.5.20m km² (2023)1st
of 206
CO₂ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes.13.1k Mt (2024)1st
of 198
Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them.933m (2025)1st
of 209
Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed.78.0 years (2024)65th
of 209
GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population.$13,862 (2025)87th
of 205
Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months.91.6% (2025)47th
of 191
InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods.0.1% (2025)169th
of 182
UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one.4.6% (2025)110th
of 185
Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas.66.3% (2025)96th
of 209
Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates.1.01 (2024)202nd
of 209
Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces.1.71% of GDP (2024)77th
of 155
Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies.38.0% of GDP (2025)165th
of 183
CO₂ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population.9.33 t (2024)22nd
of 198
Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1.0.797 (2023)78th
of 193

Land borders

🇦🇫 Afghanistan🇧🇹 Bhutan🇭🇰 Hong Kong🇮🇳 India🇰🇿 Kazakhstan🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan🇱🇦 Laos🇲🇴 Macau🇲🇳 Mongolia🇲🇲 Myanmar🇳🇵 Nepal🇰🇵 North Korea🇵🇰 Pakistan🇷🇺 Russia🇹🇯 Tajikistan🇻🇳 Vietnam

Across the water

Close by sea, with no shared land border.

🇯🇵 Japan🇰🇷 South Korea

China shares these with other countries

Drives on the right 149Has a coast and land neighbours 115Has mandarin chinese as an official language 2Is a member of the g20 19Mainly exports manufactured goods 83Sells almost only goods 34Is in eastern asia 7

China in the Daily Ceteris

Questions from the daily puzzle where the answer is China.

Which country holds the biggest stockpile of other countries' money?

China sits on over $3 trillion of foreign currency, mostly US dollars, built up over decades of exporting more than it imports. The pile is a shock absorber: it lets Beijing steady its own currency and keep paying for imports if trade suddenly dries up. source

Which country mines the most gold?

China has been the world's top gold miner since 2007, yet exports almost none — domestic production is absorbed internally, and China is also the largest gold consumer and importer. source

Which country files the most international patent applications each year?

China has topped the WIPO patent-filing table for five years running, filing 70,160 international applications in 2024 versus 54,087 from the United States — a state-driven push to shift from 'made in China' to 'invented in China'. source

Which country manufactures the most motor vehicles?

China builds more than three times as many vehicles as second-place United States (34.5 million vs 10.2 million in 2025) and accounts for over a third of all vehicles produced on Earth. source

Keep going

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Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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