World Enivironmental Issues Brief

  • LARGE AREAS SUBJECT TO OVERPOPULATION
  • INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS
  • POLLUTION (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances)
  • LOSS OF VEGETATION (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification)
  • LOSS OF WILDLIFE
  • SOIL DEGRADATION
  • SOIL DEPLETION
  • EROSION
  • GLOBAL WARMING

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Global Issues Snapshots

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China

— Current Environmental Issues —
air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species

— Health Indicators —
HIV / AIDS prevalancy rate: 0.1
Fertility Rate: 1.8
Infant Mortality Rate: 22.1
Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: 71.1
Life Expectancy at Birth: Female: 75.0
Life Expectancy at Birth: Total Population: 72.9

— Population —
Population Total: 1,321,851,888
Population Growth Rate: 0.6

— Economic Indicators —
GDP Real Growth Rate: 10.5
Military Expendatures Percent of GDP: 4.3
Unemployment Rate: 4.2
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5
GDP Per Capita PPP: 7,600
Population Below Poverty Line: 10
    (Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations.)

— Education and Communications —
Global Issues Snapshots
Global Issues Snapshots
Bordering country: Afghanistan
Bordering country: Bhutan
Bordering country: Burma
Bordering country: India
Bordering country: Kazakhstan
Bordering country: Kyrgyzstan
Bordering country: Laos
Bordering country: Mongolia
Bordering country: Nepal
Bordering country: Pakistan

— Background —
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring Chinas sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.