People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó
Flag Emblem
Anthem:  义勇军进行曲 Yìyǒngjūn jìnxíngqǔ "March of the Volunteers"
People's Republic of China   Territory claimed but not controlled
Capital	Beijing 39°55′N 116°23′E / 39.917°N 116.383°E / 39.917; 116.383
Largest city by municipal population	Chongqing[1]
Largest city by urban population	Shanghai
Official languages	Standard Chinese (de facto)[2]
Official script	Simplified Chinese (Mainland), Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau)
Ethnic groups (2020)[3]	91.11% Han Chinese 1.39% Zhuang 0.84% Uyghur 0.81% Hui 0.79% Miao 0.74% Manchu 0.70% Yi 0.68% Tujia 0.50% Tibetan 2.44% others
Demonym	Chinese
Government	Unitary communist state
• CCP General Secretary and President[a]	Xi Jinping
• Premier	Li Qiang
• Congress Chairman	Zhao Leji
• CPPCC Chairman[b]	Wang Huning
• Vice President	Han Zheng
Legislature	National People's Congress[c]
Formation
• First pre-imperial dynasty	c. 2070 BCE
• First imperial dynasty	221 BCE
• Establishment of the Republic of China	1 January 1912
• Proclamation of the People's Republic	1 October 1949
• Current constitution	4 December 1982
Area
• Total	9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi)[d][7] (3rd/4th)
• Water (%)	2.8[4]
Population
• 2025 estimate	1,404,890,000[e][8] (2nd)
• Density	146/km2 (378.1/sq mi) (83rd)
GDP (PPP)	2026 estimate
• Total	$44.295 trillion[f][9] (1st)
• Per capita	$31,596[9] (73rd)
GDP (nominal)	2026 estimate
• Total	$20.852 trillion[9] (2nd)
• Per capita	$14,874[9] (74th)
Gini (2022)	36.0[10] medium inequality
HDI (2023)	0.797[11] high (78th)
Currency	Renminbi (元/¥)[g] (CNY)
Time zone	UTC+8 (CST)
Calling code	+86 (Mainland) +852 (Hong Kong) +853 (Macau)
ISO 3166 code	CN
Internet TLD	.cn .中国 .中國 (Mainland) .hk .香港 (Hong Kong) .mo .澳门 .澳門 (Macau)

China,^[h] officially the People's Republic of China (PRC),^[i] is a country in East Asia. It is the second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, representing 17% of the world's population. China borders fourteen countries by land^[j] across an area of 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest country by area.^[k] The country is divided into 33 province-level divisions: 22 provinces,^[l] 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital, while Shanghai is the most populous city by urban area and largest financial center.

The first humans in China arrived during the Paleolithic era. By the 2nd millennium BCE dynastic states had emerged in the Yellow River basin. The 8th–3rd centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the Zhou dynasty, accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques, literature and philosophy. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor, ushering in two millennia of imperial rule. Chinese achievements include the invention of gunpowder, paper, printing and the compass, the establishment of the Silk Road, and the building of the Great Wall. Chinese culture has flourished and has had a great influence on the region and beyond. China began to cede parts of the country in the 19th century, to European powers through a series of unequal treaties. The 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China was established the following year. The country was unstable and fragmented during the Warlord Era; this came to an end with the Northern Expedition conducted by the Kuomintang to reunify the country.

The Chinese Civil War began in 1927, when Kuomintang forces purged members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China was invaded by the Empire of Japan in 1937, leading the CCP and Kuomintang to form the Second United Front to fight the Japanese. The Second Sino-Japanese War ended in a Chinese victory; however, the CCP and the Kuomintang resumed their civil war. In 1949, the CCP proclaimed the People's Republic of China and forced the Kuomintang-led government to retreat to the island of Taiwan. The country was split, with both sides claiming to be the legitimate government. Following the implementation of land reforms, attempts by the CCP to realize communism failed: the Great Leap Forward was responsible for the Great Chinese Famine which resulted in millions of deaths, and the Cultural Revolution was a period of turmoil and persecution. The reform and opening up that began in 1978 moved the country away from a planned economy towards a market-based economy, spurring an economic boom. A movement for political liberalization stalled after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

Since 1949, China has been a unitary communist state with the CCP as its sole ruling party. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a member of numerous multilateral and regional organizations. Making up around one-fifth of the world's economy, China is the second-wealthiest country in the world, with the Chinese economy being the largest when adjusted for PPP. However, China ranks poorly in measures of democracy and human rights. China has been one of the fastest-growing modern economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer. China has the world's largest standing army, second-largest defense budget, and third-largest nuclear weapons stockpile. Since the 2020s, it has been described as a superpower due to its influence in the fields of geopolitics, science and technology, manufacturing, economics and culture. China is known for its cuisine and culture. It is a megadiverse country, and has 60 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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