China People - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population 1,045,537,000(July 1986), average annual growth rate 0.8%

Nationality: noun—Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective—Chinese

Ethnic divisions: 93.3% Han Chinese; 6.7% Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and numerous lesser nationalities

Religion: officially atheist, since even before 1949 most people have been pragmatic, eclectic, and not seriously religious, most important elements of religion are Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, ancestor worship, about 2-3% Muslim, 1% Christian

Language: Standard Chinese (Putonghua) or Mandarin (based on the Beijing dialect); also Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and minority languages (see ethnic divisions)

Life expectancy: 68

Literacy: over 75%

Labor force: est. 460 million ^December 1983); 74 4% agriculture, 15.0% industry and commerce, 10.6% other

Organized labor: All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) follows the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party; membership about 77 million

NOTE: The information regarding China on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of China 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about China 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.