# China
**China**, formally the People's Republic of China, is a country in [East Asia](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-asia) and the world's second largest economy, covering 9,596,960 square kilometers, which makes it the fourth largest country by area.[1](https://www.ciaworldfactbook.us/china/) Since the reform and opening up period began in 1978, its GDP growth has averaged over 9 percent a year, lifting almost 800 million people out of extreme poverty and transforming the country from low-income to upper-middle-income status.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) Its population was 1.41 billion in 2025, and it is now shrinking.[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/china?contextual=default)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Area and rank | 9,596,960 square kilometers; fourth largest country in the world[1](https://www.ciaworldfactbook.us/china/) |
| Economy | World's second largest economy; contributes about 30 percent to global growth[4](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference) |
| Growth record | GDP growth averaged over 9 percent a year since 1978; extreme poverty eradicated by 2020[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) |
| Recent growth | IMF: 5 percent in 2025, 4.5 percent projected for 2026; World Bank: 4.9 percent in 2025, 4.4 percent projected for 2026[4](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference) • [5](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/12/11/advancing-reforms-can-enhance-prospects-china-economic-update) |
| Population | 1.41 billion (2025), annual growth −0.2 percent; fourth consecutive year of decline[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/china?contextual=default) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/868cd1ffc949af5a2e94c523e750e97e) |
| Emissions | 12 billion metric tons of CO2 in 2024, 30 percent of the global total; coal share of energy fell from more than 70 percent in 2010 to 58 percent in 2024[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/07/14/china-the-energy-transition-superpower_6743366_19.html) |
| Climate goals | Peak carbon emissions before 2030; carbon neutrality by 2060[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) |
| Human development | Human Development Index of 0.797 in 2023, near the very high development threshold of 0.800[8](https://hdr.undp.org/content/monitoring-chinas-human-development-assessing-economic-and-social-progress-well) |
## Economic performance and outlook
Growth has remained solid but is moderating. In the first half of 2025 real GDP expanded 5.3 percent year on year, supported by accommodative macroeconomic policies and strong exports, and year-to-date growth reached 5.2 percent after the third quarter.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) • [5](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/12/11/advancing-reforms-can-enhance-prospects-china-economic-update) The IMF upgraded its projections to 5 percent for 2025 and 4.5 percent for 2026, upward revisions of 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points from its October World Economic Outlook, while the World Bank estimated 4.9 percent for 2025 and projected 4.4 percent for 2026.[4](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference) • [5](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/12/11/advancing-reforms-can-enhance-prospects-china-economic-update) The IMF expects growth to slow further, to 4.0 percent in 2027 as structural headwinds assert themselves, and to 3.3 percent by 2029 because of rapid population aging, slower productivity growth, and protracted difficulties in the housing sector.[9](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2026/january/english/text.pdf) • [10](https://apnews.com/article/6cd5a3ab8d9e0e7a039834ddea8f4e7d)
**Official targets have come down.** Premier Li Qiang announced a growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent for 2026 in his report to the [National People's Congress](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-peoples-congress), the lowest target since 1991 and the first downgrade after an official "around 5%" target held between 2023 and 2025.[11](https://apnews.com/article/1822006cd39ff43505fa9a47a4581a16) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/6459c5f5b9bd7a538f9d7a7f17c304ef) The accompanying five-year plan to 2030 emphasizes self-reliance in artificial intelligence, robotics, and other advanced technologies.[12](https://apnews.com/article/6459c5f5b9bd7a538f9d7a7f17c304ef)
## Rebalancing challenges
The growth model that relied on investment and export-oriented manufacturing "has largely reached its limits," in the World Bank's assessment, producing economic and environmental imbalances.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) Domestic demand has been persistently weak, partly because the property sector remains on a shaky footing, which depresses consumer confidence and creates deflationary pressures.[4](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference) Low inflation relative to trading partners has produced significant real exchange rate depreciation, making exports cheaper, prolonging reliance on exports, and worsening external imbalances.[4](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference) The IMF staff report also points to weakening productivity, a build-up of financial vulnerabilities, and excess supply in some tradable sectors from state-led, debt-financed investment and industrial policy support, and judges that the policy measures implemented so far remain modest relative to the scale of the challenges.[13](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2026/02/17/peoples-republic-of-china-2025-article-iv-consultation-press-release-staff-report-and-574028)
Household behavior sits at the center of the rebalancing problem. Almost half of household savings are invested in housing and about a quarter in bank deposits, a preference for low-risk assets shaped by precautionary saving needs, limited long-term financial products, falling home prices, and cautious income expectations.[5](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/12/11/advancing-reforms-can-enhance-prospects-china-economic-update) The authorities adopted a more expansionary fiscal stance in 2025 and 2026 and initiated an "anti-involution" campaign to reduce over-investment in some industries, and the IMF has recommended shifting resources away from industrial subsidies and infrastructure toward social safety net programs and stabilizing the property sector.[14](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/03/21/sp032226-chinas-new-chapter-rebalancing-and-unleashing-market-forces)
The private sector's role has changed over time. From 1999 to 2015, the share of total industrial revenues held by state-holding enterprises fell from approximately 50 percent to approximately 20 percent, but recent years have seen a stall in the private sector's increased role, coinciding with slowing growth, less efficient resource allocation, declining returns on investment, and demographic pressures.[14](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/03/21/sp032226-chinas-new-chapter-rebalancing-and-unleashing-market-forces)
## Demographics
China's population of 1.4 billion shrank for the fourth straight year according to new government statistics, with births falling to their lowest rate since the 1949 communist revolution.[6](https://apnews.com/article/868cd1ffc949af5a2e94c523e750e97e) A decade after the one-child policy ended, authorities are promoting measures to encourage births, from cash subsidies to eliminating a tax on matchmakers and day care centers.[6](https://apnews.com/article/868cd1ffc949af5a2e94c523e750e97e) The aging population weighs on the economy over the medium term: a declining labor force slows GDP growth while the growing ranks of the old could put pressure on public finances.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) • [13](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2026/02/17/peoples-republic-of-china-2025-article-iv-consultation-press-release-staff-report-and-574028) [Life expectancy](https://www.edgepedia.org/life-expectancy) at birth was 78 years in 2024.[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/china?contextual=default)
## Poverty reduction and human development
By 2020 China had eradicated extreme poverty, and access to health, education, and other services improved significantly over the reform period.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) As of 2024, 15.2 percent of [Chinese people](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-people) remained below the $8.30 daily threshold, expressed in 2021 purchasing power parity dollars, a higher living standard benchmark that the World Bank uses to compare progress across upper-middle-income countries.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) The country's [Human Development Index](https://www.edgepedia.org/human-development-index) reached 0.797 by 2023, close to the 0.800 threshold for very high human development, reflecting gains in income, education, and life expectancy, though regional disparities and environmental costs remain, with resource-intensive northern provinces incurring a substantial "development discount."
[8](https://hdr.undp.org/content/monitoring-chinas-human-development-assessing-economic-and-social-progress-well)
## Climate and energy
China is central to global climate outcomes. Although not the main source of historical cumulative emissions, it now accounts for a third of annual global carbon dioxide emissions, and it emitted 12 billion metric tons of CO2 in 2024, 30 percent of the global total for 18 percent of the world's population.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china) • [7](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/07/14/china-the-energy-transition-superpower_6743366_19.html) Per capita emissions have surpassed those of the European Union and are on par with the OECD average.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china)
Renewable deployment has moved faster than targets. Wind and solar capacity blasted through a 1,200 gigawatt target six years ahead of schedule and reached 1,680 gigawatts, the world's largest renewable capacity.[15](https://apnews.com/article/c5e1db2dec473b5ca3763bc4c5c6e5cb) The clean technology sector accounted for 10 percent of the economy in 2024, and China has emerged as a leader in developing and assembling electric vehicles, batteries, and photovoltaic panels.[16](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2025/03/10/the-chinese-paradox-how-becoming-the-world-leader-in-green-energy-slows-climate-progress_6738986_114.html) Yet coal still supplied 58 percent of the energy mix in 2024, down from more than 70 percent in 2010, and the country burns 40 percent more coal than the rest of the world combined; a March 2025 study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air found emissions had fallen 1 percent year on year.[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/07/14/china-the-energy-transition-superpower_6743366_19.html) The stated goals are peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.[2](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china)
## Technology and space program
China's space program has progressed from early rocket launches in the 1960s through a series of firsts: the first manned space flight in 2003, the Chang'e-3 unmanned lunar landing in 2013, the Chang'e-4 rover on the far side of the Moon in 2019, a probe and rover operating on Mars in 2021, completion of the permanent [Tiangong space station](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiangong-space-station) in 2022, and the Chang'e-6 far-side lunar sample return in 2024.[17](https://theworldfactbook.org/country/china.html) In 2017 the satellite Micius performed the world's first quantum-encrypted virtual teleconference between Beijing and Vienna, and in 2025 China launched the [Tianwen-2](https://www.edgepedia.org/tianwen-2) asteroid sample return mission and the Jinan-1 quantum communications microsatellite.[17](https://theworldfactbook.org/country/china.html) The IMF notes that China's digital infrastructure is well prepared to reap substantial gains from artificial intelligence.[4](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference)
## Governance and media
All broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the [Chinese Communist Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-communist-party) or a government agency, and there are no privately owned TV or radio stations; the [Central Propaganda Department](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-propaganda-department) and local officials direct news reporting and approve programming, and foreign-made TV programs must be approved before broadcast.[17](https://theworldfactbook.org/country/china.html) The Cyberspace Administration of China regulates video platforms.[17](https://theworldfactbook.org/country/china.html)
## References
1. [China – Demographics, Politics, and Key Facts, CIA World Factbook (mirror)](https://www.ciaworldfactbook.us/china/)
2. [China Overview, World Bank](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/china)
3. [China Data, World Bank](https://data.worldbank.org/country/china?contextual=default)
4. [2025 China Article IV Consultation Press Conference, IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/12/10/sp121025-md-remarks-2025-china-article-iv-consultation-press-conference)
5. [Advancing Reforms Can Enhance Prospects – China Economic Update, World Bank](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/12/11/advancing-reforms-can-enhance-prospects-china-economic-update)
6. [China's population falls again as births drop to lowest rate since 1949, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/868cd1ffc949af5a2e94c523e750e97e)
7. [China, the energy transition superpower, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/07/14/china-the-energy-transition-superpower_6743366_19.html)
8. [Monitoring China's Human Development, UNDP](https://hdr.undp.org/content/monitoring-chinas-human-development-assessing-economic-and-social-progress-well)
9. [World Economic Outlook Update, January 2026, IMF](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2026/january/english/text.pdf)
10. [IMF upgrades its forecast for China's economy, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/6cd5a3ab8d9e0e7a039834ddea8f4e7d)
11. [China sets a lower economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/1822006cd39ff43505fa9a47a4581a16)
12. [Key takeaways from China's new 5-year economic blueprint, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/6459c5f5b9bd7a538f9d7a7f17c304ef)
13. [People's Republic of China: 2025 Article IV Consultation Staff Report, IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2026/02/17/peoples-republic-of-china-2025-article-iv-consultation-press-release-staff-report-and-574028)
14. [China's New Chapter: Rebalancing and Unleashing Market Forces, IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/03/21/sp032226-chinas-new-chapter-rebalancing-and-unleashing-market-forces)
15. [China likely to overdeliver on climate goals, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/c5e1db2dec473b5ca3763bc4c5c6e5cb)
16. [The Chinese paradox: green energy leadership and climate progress, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2025/03/10/the-chinese-paradox-how-becoming-the-world-leader-in-green-energy-slows-climate-progress_6738986_114.html)
17. [China Facts, Map, Population, GDP, The World Factbook](https://theworldfactbook.org/country/china.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Countries, territories, and regional overviews › Countries and territories › Titles A to Ga*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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