);
Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak;

People China

Population:
1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22.3% (male 153,401,051; female 135,812,993)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 469,328,664; female 443,248,860)
65 years and over: 7.5% (male 46,308,923; female 50,747,133) (2004
est.)

Median age:
total: 31.8 years
male: 31.5 years
female: 32.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.57% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.96 years
male: 70.4 years
female: 73.72 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
840,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
44,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups:
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu,
Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Religions:
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)

Languages:
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing
dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
(see Ethnic groups entry)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2002)

Government China

Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
abbreviation: PRC
local short form: Zhong Guo

Government type:
Communist state

Capital:
Beijing

Administrative divisions:
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous