Area 9,573,000 sq.km. The third largest state in the world. The climate varies from tropical in Hainan in the south to sub-artic in Heilongjiang in the north. 91% of the people there are Han Chinese and the other 8.7% are Ethnic minorities. Literacy is 81.5%.

There is massive increase in unemployment and widespread poverty. Unemployment is officially 4.8%, but it is estimated that the urban labour surplus is 18% and rural 30%. This means about 200 million without a meaningful income.

(Data extracted from operation world 2000)