Formal Name: People’s Republic of China (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo)

Capital: Beijing

Chief of State: President Xi Jinping (since March 14, 2013)

Head of Government: Premier Li Qiang (since March 11, 2023)

Population: Approximately 1.4 billion (2023 estimate)

Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, and other recognized ethnic groups (Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, etc.) 7.1%. The Chinese government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups.

Languages: Standard Chinese (Mandarin or Putonghua), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and various minority languages.

Religions: Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism), Islam (2%), Christianity (4%)

Area: 9,596,960 square kilometers, making it the fourth-largest country after Russia, Canada, and the US.

Border Countries: Afghanistan 91 km, Bhutan 477 km, Burma 2,129 km, India 2,659 km, Kazakhstan 1,765 km, North Korea 1,352 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,063 km, Laos 475 km, Mongolia 4,630 km, Nepal 1,389 km, Pakistan 438 km, Russia (northeast) 4,133 km, Russia (northwest) 46 km, Tajikistan 477 km, Vietnam 1,297 km

Regional Borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km

Sea Borders: East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Climate: Ranges from tropical in the south to subarctic in the north

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

Lowest Elevation: Turpan Pendi at -154 meters in Xinjiang Province, NW China

Highest Elevation: Mount Everest at 8,848 meters on the border with Tibet

Administrative Divisions: 23 provinces (including Taiwan, as claimed by China), 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities

Provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang. China considers Taiwan its 23rd province.

Autonomous Regions: Guangxi, Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol), Ningxia, Xinjiang, Tibet (Xizang)

Municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin