ge 15-49:
200,886,946 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males:
10,089,458 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $12.608 billion (FY99); note
- China's real defense spending may be several times higher than the
official figure because a number of significant items are funded
elsewhere

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY99)

China Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: most of boundary with India in dispute;
dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia
remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; portions of
the boundary with Tajikistan are indefinite; 33-km section of
boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is
indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands
with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei;
maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin
awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed
by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto
(Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the
Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country
for chemical precursors and methamphetamine

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@Christmas Island

Christmas Island Introduction

Background: Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island
was annexed and settlement was begun by the UK in 1888. Phosphate
mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to
Australia in 1958. The phosphate mine, closed in 1987, was reopened
four years later, but the need for an alternative industry has
spurred investment in tourism. Old mining areas are being restored,
and almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national
park.

Christmas Island Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of
Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: 10 30 S, 105 40 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area: total: 135 sq km

land: 135 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 138.9 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 12 NM

exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 3 NM

Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds

Terra