China
People's Republic of China is a country in Eastern Asia, covered by the Atlas as part of East Asia. It is home to about 1.40 bn people. Its Human Development Index of 0.797 ranks it 78 of 193 countries (2023). Its political system is classified as closed autocracy.
- Political regime
- Closed autocracy
- All countries · 2025
V-Dem (Regimes of the World), via Our World in Data
Regional profile
East Asia
China is part of East Asia. Our editors write about the region as a whole — its story, topics and sources below cover all its countries.
View the whole region →The workshop of the global economy and the arena where the century's central rivalry plays out. East Asia has the world's densest manufacturing networks, its most advanced chip industry and its steepest demographic decline. Taiwan, the Korean peninsula and the East China Sea keep military risk permanently on the agenda.
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