China Overview
Twentieth-Century History and Government
China is the oldest continuous major world civilization, withrecords dating back about 3,500 years. China’s last dynasty wasestablished in 1644, when the nomadic Manchus overthrew the nativeMing dynasty and established the Qing (Ch’ing) dynasty with Beijingas its capital.Geographically, China is the world’s third largest country,after Russia and Canada. China’s population in 1997 was estimatedat 1.22 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 0.93 percent.Sixty percent of the workforce (699 million) is in agricultureand forestry; 25 percent is in industry and commerce. The largestethnic group is the Han Chinese, who constitute about 92 percentof the population. Mandarin, the predominant dialect, is…
