(Chung-hua Jen-min Kung-ho Kuo)

Political Status: Communist People’s Republic established October 1, 1949; government controls mainland China, Hong Kong (since 1997), and Macao (since 1999); present constitution adopted December 4, 1982.

Area: 3,692,213 sq. mi. (9,562,842 sq. km), excluding Taiwan.

Population: 1,396,834,000 (2018E—World Bank); 1,392,508,664 (2018E—U.S. Census), excluding Taiwan.

Major Urban Centers (2016E—UN): BEIJING (Peking, 21,240,000), Shanghai (24,484,000), Chongqing (13,744,000), Guangzhou (Canton, 13,070,000), Tianjin (Tientsin, 11,558,000), Shenzhen (10,828,000), Wuhan (7,979,000), Chengdu (7,820,000), Nanjing (Nanking, 7,609,000), Hong Kong (7,365,000).

Official Language: Northern (Mandarin) Chinese. (Putunghua is the officially promoted Beijing dialect.)

Monetary Unit: Yuan (official rate October 19, 2018: 6.94 yuan = $1US). The overall currency is known as renminbi (RMB, people’s currency). On June 19, 2010, the People’s Bank stated that China would permit increased exchange rate flexibility but ...