China Today

A Look Inside One of the World’s Most Rapidly Changing Countries

China

China

Population

• 1.3 billion people• homogenous population• 92% are Han Chinese• 55 other ethnic groups

make up the remaining 8% of China’s population

• 90% live in the coastal areas of eastern China

• growing at a rate of 7.5 million each year

Rural vs. Urban

• Most Chinese still live in small, rural villages.

• However, many people are leaving China’s villages for its booming cities.

• There are currently 9 cities in China with at least 4 million people.

• Shanghai (13 million) and Beijing (12 million) are China’s largest cities.

Government

• Communist government• Economic freedom has

not led to more political freedom.

• Government controls most areas of everyday life.

• Ex. The government controls newspapers and Internet access.

Violating Human Rights

• Many countries have accused China of not respecting human rights:-Tiananmen Square-Tibet

• Many U.S. politicians want to limit trade with China until it shows more respect for human rights.

Economy

• Mixed economy• Most Chinese are

farmers, but industry is rapidly growing.

• Although many Chinese still live in poverty, economic growth has improved wages and living standards in China.

• The Chinese currency is called the yuan.

Farming

Industry

Education

• Education is extremely important.

• Students must pass a test in order to get into good schools.

• Chinese students spend more time in school and have more homework than American students.

• They do a great deal of studying!

Issues & Challenges• air and water pollution

• deforestation/loss of farmland

• poverty

• government control

• human rights violations

• defective products (i.e. food, paint, toys)