China in Statistics the good-stats and bad-numbers

[Jack MacKelly]

What numbers or statistics do you think describe China best ?

Here are some of the good

1

Population - a huge workforce of over 1.3 Billion persons and a massive growing Economy of 7.3% growth per year. A good electronic manufacturing sector, iron and steel industry and food processing, automobile production.

2

Military - The Chinese have one of the most powerful military forces on Earth, a good Navy, some powerful J10 aircraft and a heap of missiles and ICBM nukes like the DF-31 and CSS-4 , it has a massive Military manpower - fit for military service and with its Space ventures its developing a mighty military-technological potential so no body would dream of messing with China.

3

Land and Culture, China is a massive Land mass being the 3rd Largest in the World behing the Canadians and Russians, with the USA at 4th place. For thousands of years through history, China has been leading the world in agriculture, poetry, crafts, and sciences. China has also a wealth of resources such as timbers, iron ore, petroleum, tin, tungsten, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, hydro power stations, farming land, natural gas, mercury.

and some of the bad

1

Poverty in Urban areas can be quiet bad, Chinese also have some large Debts with an external of $167 billion, about 60 to 100 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs.

2

Military not everyone see's the Chinese military as a good thing, people in the West never liked Mao or his radical ideas. Today China has over 2,80,500 militray air force personnel read for combat and they've a strong Navy but China has become more open and there is more economic freedom and exports and imports going to the USA and Europe, however there are still conservatives in the western-world who are sceptical about the Chinese and also today there are rightwingers in Taiwan and ultra-nationalists in Japan that do not welcome the rise of China.

3

Disasters, China has seen its fare share of natural disasters and un-nautral in the past, from Flooding, Coal mine accidents, to Crop failure, storms and Quakes. Thankfully China has been almost free of such horrible disasters in the past like the Tsunami - death toll that took hold of South Asia.

Is there any good site that constantlly updates the statistics on China ?

[Harpoon]

china is not bigger than the US

[Quest]

I think the addition of some territories like Guam and Puerto Rico etc made the US slightly larger, however the 50 states combined are slightly smaller than Greater China. They are roughly the same size so you will see different sources claiming each the 3rd largest. The US enjoys a longer coast line, more arable land, and a smaller population.

[Harpoon]

From the CIA World Factbook

China

Area:

total: 9,596,960 sq km

land: 9,326,410 sq km

water: 270,550 sq km

United States

total: 9,631,418 sq km

land: 9,161,923 sq km

water: 469,495 sq km

note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

[Outofin]

The huge population has long been seen as a negative factor. That's the reason China made the one-child policy. Some say that most social issues would be resolved automatically if the population is cut by half. But in recent years, it has become controversial. More people start to see the bright side. Like Jack said, we have almost infinite workforce to fill in all industries. People often cite Japan as an example. Given Japan's georgraphic size and natrual resources, they are over-populated too. But they succeed anyway because of the education and technology. I think that's indeed a good point.

[liuzhou]

Re relative sizes of China and the USA.

I did some research into this a couple of years ago and discovered that every source put China slightly in the lead except the CIA (quoted above) and those who took their information from the CIA. All independent sources (including the United Nations) disagree with the hardly impartial CIA.

Part of the problem is that few sources actually say what they are counting. The CIA, for example excludes Taiwan when measuring China, but includes some dependant territories when measuring the USA.

Anyway, it's all pretty meaningless unless you are part of the rather sad "mine is bigger than yours" brigade.

[sui.generis]

Re relative sizes of China and the USA.

I did some research into this a couple of years ago and discovered that every source put China slightly in the lead except the CIA (quoted above) and those who took their information from the CIA. All independent sources (including the United Nations) disagree with the hardly impartial CIA.

That's a strange observation' date=' considering that the CIA info listed above shows China with about 160,000sq km more land than the US.

Which also means, Harpoon, that Jack (", China is a [b']massive Land mass[/b] being the 3rd Largest in the World behing the Canadians and Russians, with the USA at 4th place. ") is correct, according to the data you provided.

On that note, how are the literacy stats in the PRC?

[Jack MacKelly]

On that note' date=' how are the literacy stats in the PRC? [/quote']

The Literacy Rates aren't great somewhere between 80 and 90% depending on area, male/female sex ( there is a big gap between men and women in the countryside ) and the age group must be considered. however the rates of literacy and education in China are much better than other nations such as 3rd world, 2nd world or developing countries.

So do people think the best source for numbers on China is the CIA fact book ?

[Harpoon]

That's a strange observation' date=' considering that the CIA info listed above shows China with about 160,000sq km more land than the US.

Which also means, Harpoon, that Jack (", China is a [b']massive Land mass[/b] being the 3rd Largest in the World behing the Canadians and Russians, with the USA at 4th place. ") is correct, according to the data you provided.

On that note, how are the literacy stats in the PRC?

Yes, you are right. In terms of actual land China has more than the US (which only counts all the states of the US). The Great Lakes probably tip the scale a little bit.

Literacy rates are like JackMacKelly said:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 90.9%

male: 95.1%

female: 86.5% (2002)

liuzhou, the CIA Factbook considers Taiwan part of China on the map. The US has a pro-One China policy.

They really have no reason to lie about this, seriously. And you'd be shocked about what I think the US and CIA are responsible for. :o

Here's the page for everyone's reference:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html

[liuzhou]

liuzhou, the CIA Factbook considers Taiwan part of China on the map. The US has a pro-One China policy.

So, why do they have a separate entry for Taiwan?

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tw.html

That's a strange observation, considering that the CIA info listed above shows China with about 160,000sq km more land than the US.

Clearly, I was referring to the quoted overall size statistic and to the comment under United States which reads

"Area - comparative:

about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe

[Quest]

http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365#C1

Harpoon, check this out. As I said there have been controversies regarding the sizes of China and the US. This UK gov site lists both the 3rd largest.... The China page says China is right behind Russia and Canada and the 3rd largest. The US page says China is slightly smaller. Most Chinese sources also list China as the larger one, but I figured you probably would not trust a Chinese source.

Also if you believe the CIA, this site collects 15 years of the CIA's factbooks. China's area remained the same throughout the 15 years, but the US's 50 states kept growing......... The 50 states probably grew due to global warming and thermal expansion.

http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abc_world_fact_book.html

United States -- Source: From 1996 CIA World Factbook

Area:

total area:

9,372,610 sq km

land area:

9,166,600 sq km

comparative area:

about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly smaller than China; about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe

note:

includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

United States

SOURCE: 1997 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

Area

total: 9,629,091 sq km

land: 9,158,960 sq km

water : 470,131 sq km

note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

Area - comparative about one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa;about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil);slightly larger than China; about two and one-half times the size of WesternEurope

[necroflux]

I'm not sure what the purpose of this thread is.. moreover how is China's extensive military and "heap of missiles and ICBM nukes like the DF-31 and CSS-4" a "good" thing about the country? Meaning how is any country having a huge offensive weapon stockpile (the US included) a good thing?

[Harpoon]

lol Quest, wtf?

So apparently, in the course of one year, 7640 square km of actual land simply dissapeared, but the 206010 square km of water area in 1996 somehow managed to more than double

If this trend keeps up, maybe the old line "If you believe that, then I have some beachfront property in Arizona to sell you" won't be too far off

[Jack MacKelly]

I'm not sure what the purpose of this thread is.. moreover how is China's extensive military and "heap of missiles and ICBM nukes like the DF-31 and CSS-4" a "good" thing about the country? Meaning how is any country having a huge offensive weapon stockpile (the US included) a good thing?

Well thankfully there are other spin-offs besides War, such as Nuclear energy and electricity, advances in physics and benefits for space

but I agree that ICBM nukes can often be a very bad thing and that's why I also included the military stats as a bad statastic as well as a benefit

About 1 week ago China gained 337 sq. km, the State Duma ratified a supplemental agreement between Russia and China on the border. At that moment, a part of Russian territory, including half of the island of Bolshoy Ussuriisky, officially became part of China.

[shibo77]

Wow, CIA has a "World 'Fact'book" that is very interesting and laughable to me. I think both China's and the United States' areas are difficult to calculate. The United States has many overseas possessions and military bases that are considered United States territory. Also like Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands and Eastern Samoa which are part of the United States "Commonwealth"? For China, I think the United States nominally says one thing and in reality they say another. I think the United States doesn't consider Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh, the islands in the South China sea and the areas governed by the government in Taipei part of the People's Republic of China.

About statistics, big population doesn't equal big work force. Rather it means lots of cheap jobs, and fierce competition especially in the education system. I think China has one of the highest agricultural outputs, yet China has to import grains to feed its citizens. About 1/3 of the world's floras can be found within China's borders. Which also means lots of them are endangered. Still I think one of the most important statistics is the huge population. Which could have pros and cons. It could mean pollution, crowded living, working spaces and so on. Another thing is that China has lots of superlatives, the highest point in the world, the second lowest point in Asia, the 4th and 6th (I think) longest rivers. lots of diverse places to visit. You can travel in China your life and still have missed lots of fun places, of course this could be the same for other countries as well...

-Shìbó

[sui.generis]

Wow' date=' CIA has a "World 'Fact'book" that is very interesting and laughable to me. I think both China's and the United States' areas are difficult to calculate. The United States has many overseas possessions and military bases that are considered United States territory. Also like Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands and Eastern Samoa which are part of the United States "Commonwealth"? For China, I think the United States nominally says one thing and in reality they say another. I think the United States doesn't consider Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh, the islands in the South China sea and the areas governed by the government in Taipei part of the People's Republic of China.

[/quote']

As has already been stated, the US does support a 1-china policy and so yes, it does count Taiwan's area to be Chinese land. As for the South China Sea, I believe the question is who doesn't claim those islands?

[马杰]

Who really cares?

But when it comes to Taiwan, which is an independent country, if "One China" were to ever exist with Taiwan as part of it, China as a whole would be better off with Taipei as the capital.

Which is the real meaning of the US's "One China Policy" anyway.