China

Statistics and Market Data on China

The People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. Located in East Asia, China is the most populous country in the world. The population growth in China makes for some impressive figures. In 2011, the total population of China was around 1.35 billion people. Life expectancy in China was 73.3 years for people born in 2009.

China is a single-party state run by the Communist Party of China. The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented period of breakneck growth and rapid development in China’s economy, a world away from the lengthy period of stagnation seen under Mao Zedong. The distribution of the workforce across economic sectors in China is one of the statistical examples confirming these developments. Double-digit GDP growth rates are no rarity in China, and the country seems to be on track to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy within the next decade. In 2010, the GDP of China was 5.88 trillion U.S. dollars. China’s rapid growth has attracted vast amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI)..Statistics relating to China show the country is now the third largest recipient of foreign direct investments. In 2009, U.S. investors held almost 50 billion U.S. dollars of FDI in China.

Statistics relating to the staggering monthly value of exports in China are endorsed by some impressive figures. In 2009, statistics about China indicated that the country had overtaken Germany as the world’s leading exporter and it now tops the ranking of the world’s largest export nations with a total export value of 1.58 trillion U.S. dollars in 2010. In 2009, more than 20 percent of China’s exports went to the U.S., making the United States China’s most important trading partner. Statistics on the unemployment rate in China show that it has been practically stable for the last decade. In 2010, unemployment statistics indicated that 4.1 percent of China’s workforce was unemployed compared to 9.6 percent in the U.S.

With a cultural heritage stretching back almost 4,000 years, China has one of the oldest continuous cultures on the planet. Many of today’s basics such as paper and gunpowder can be traced back through Chinese history. Statistical figures relating to the business expectation index in China showcase many exciting trends in the country's development and it will be fascinating to see where they will lead in the coming years. Particularly since China is considered to be the next challenger to the status of the United States as the main global superpower.