You’re probably wondering how we could possibly summarize the world’s most populated country, the third (or fourth) largest country by land area, and one of the world’s oldest civilizations in a measly seven facts. The truth is, we can’t. But we still will. Because by reading this, you’re not looking to be the go-to expert on China. You’re simply looking to up your game a little bit so you can have a conversation or maybe just sound kind of smart. And that we can handle. So here are seven facts about China.
1
The population of China is estimated to be about 1.4 billion. As above, that’s enough for number one in the world. Looked at another way, 18 percent of the planet lives in China. By population, China is about 4 USA’s, 17 Germanies, 56 Australias, and 280 Irelands.
2
China shares a border with 14 other countries, tying it with Russia for having the most international neighbors. Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam all border China. Interestingly, while Russia has 11 time zones, China has…one.
3
Yes, Mandarin probably has over one billion speakers worldwide, but that’s not to say that China doesn’t have other languages. In fact, China has in the ballpark of 300 living languages. Mandarin is simply the country’s lingua franca.
4
China is obviously an economic powerhouse. Using nominal GDP, China has the second largest economy in the world. Taking into account purchasing power parity, it jumps to number one, though when this number is expressed per capita, the result is number 73.
5
Sticking with the economy, China has three of the five largest companies in the world (as defined by annual revenue) according to the Fortune Global 500 ranking.
6
China’s single party state (led by the Chinese Communist Party and called the People’s Republic of China) has been in power since 1949. Preceding their rise, China was governed by a monarchy from ancient times through 1912, ultimately being overthrown by the Republic of China (ROC). A subsequent civil war between the Communist Party and the ROC saw mainland China go to the former, with the ROC retreating to Taiwan. Relations since then have been, let us say, suboptimal.
7
By some measures, the most popular sports league in China is the National Basketball Association (NBA), as in the one in the U.S. with Lebron James. (While relations between the NBA and China hit the skids over some unwelcome Hong Kong commentary, the love affair is expected to continue.)
Again, we believe there might be a few more facts to know about China.
