PEOPLE
Ethnic
Groups
The largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese, who constitute about
91.9% of the total population. The remaining 8.1% are Zhuang (16
million), Manchu (10 million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million),
Uygur (7 million), Yi (7 million), Mongolian (5 million), Tibetan
(5 million), Buyi (3 million), Korean (2 million), and other ethnic
minorities.
Language
There are seven major Chinese dialects and many subdialects. Mandarin
(or Putonghua), the predominant dialect, is spoken by over 70%
of the population. It is taught in all schools and is the medium
of government. About two-thirds of the Han ethnic group are native
speakers of Mandarin; the rest, concentrated in southwest and
southeast China, speak one of the six other major Chinese dialects.
Non-Chinese languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include
Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur and other Turkic languages (in Xinjiang),
and Korean (in the northeast).
The
Pinyin System of Romanization
On January 1, 1979, the Chinese Government officially adopted
the pinyin system for spelling Chinese names and places in Roman
letters. A system of Romanization invented by the Chinese, pinyin
has long been widely used in China on street and commercial signs
as well as in elementary Chinese textbooks as an aid in learning
Chinese characters. Variations of pinyin also are used as the
written forms of several minority languages.
Pinyin
has now replaced other conventional spellings in China's English-language
publications. The U.S. Government also has adopted the pinyin
system for all names and places in China. For example, the capital
of China is now spelled "Beijing" rather than "Peking."
Religion
Religion plays a significant part in the life of many Chinese.
Buddhism is most widely practiced, with an estimated 100 million
adherents. Traditional Taoism also is practiced. Official figures
indicate there are 20 million Muslims, 5 million Catholics, and
15 million Protestants; unofficial estimates are much higher.
While
the Chinese constitution affirms religious toleration, the Chinese
Government places restrictions on religious practice outside officially
recognized organizations. Only two Christian organizations--a
Catholic church without official ties to Rome and the "Three-Self-Patriotic"
Protestant church--are sanctioned by the Chinese Government. Unauthorized
churches have sprung up in many parts of the country and unofficial
religious practice is flourishing. In some regions authorities
have tried to control activities of these unregistered churches.
In other regions, registered and unregistered groups are treated
similarly by authorities and congregations worship in both types
of churches. Most Chinese Catholic bishops are recognized by the
Pope, and official priests have Vatican approval to administer
all the sacraments.
Population
Policy
With a population officially just over 1.3 billion and an estimated
growth rate of about 0.6%, China is very concerned about its population
growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict
birth limitation policy. China’s 2002 Population and Family
Planning Law and policy permit one child per family, with allowance
for a second child under certain circumstances, especially in
rural areas, and with guidelines looser for ethnic minorities
with small populations. Enforcement varies, and relies largely
on "social compensation fees" to discourage extra births.
Official government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization,
but in some localities there are instances of forced abortion.
The government's goal is to stabilize the population in the first
half of the 21st century, and current projections are that the
population will peak at around 1.6 billion by 2050.
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Chinese (singular and plural).
Population (July 2007 est.): 1,321,851,888.
Population growth rate (2006 est.): 0.6%.
Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--22.12/1,000. Life expectancy--72.88 years (overall); 71.13 years for males, 74.82 years for females.
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese--91.9%; Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uygur, Yi, Mongolian, Tibetan, Buyi, Korean, and other--8.1%.
Religions: Officially atheist; Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity.
Language: Mandarin (Putonghua), plus many local dialects.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy--90.9%.
Work force (2006 est., 798 million): Agriculture and forestry--45%; industry --24%; services--31%.
