Cultural Environment China Is Now

Cultural Environment China China is now and is likely to remain the most populated nation in the world, 2005 estimates of the population of China according to the CIA World Factbook is 1,306,313,812. With a relatively conservative population growth rate of 0.58% the nation has nominal growth at a substantial lead to other nations in population.

The breakdown of the population by age and gender is as follows: % (male 148,134,928/female 131,045,415) 71% (male 477,182,072/female 450,664,933) years and over: 7.6% (male 47,400,282/female 51,886,182) (2005 est.) (CIA World Factbook "China") The nation experienced a movement of population control, known as the "one child" policy, which dictated, rather forcefully at one time the fact that each married couple could have only one child.

Though there was considerable resistance the legacy of this pol;icy is that China is rapidly aging as a nation and as a result of this policy, and the cultural preference for male children the population is strongly male, as compared to other nations. Popular estimates, based upon real population growth rates in China's history, prior to population control enforcement site that there has been a silent genocide of females that would likely constitute an additional 10 million women.

Goldberg 8) Geographically the nation is very large, and constitutes a very rural geographic climate, with many areas being used to feed the population and grow the economy. There is still considerable agricultural growth in China and this is reflected in its geography and climate. The total square km area of China is 9,596,960 sq km with 270, 550 Sq km being taken up by water. The size of the nation leaves the geography very diverse with some tropical south locations to some sub-arctic location in the north.

(CIA World Factbook "China") The economy of China overall is relatively strong and has been in transition from what was previously considered a sluggish economy, as a result of centralized state sponsored agency dominance created by strict communist structures, to one that has quadrupled its GDP since 1978. Though the nation by standards of per capita income is still relatively poor, it is the second largest economic power after the United States.

The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the workforce; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and - keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 100 to 150 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs.

(CIA World Factbook "China") China has a markedly high unemployment rate for eligible employees and also experiences significant unemployment numbers in rural economies.

"9.8% in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2004 est.)" (CIA World Factbook "China") the occupation breakdown for the nation is also rather simplistic, with a large protion of the population still being engaged in agricultural industries: "agriculture 49%, industry 22%, services 29% (2003 est.)" (CIA World Factbook "China") Cultural habits of China are relatively universal as the nation has relatively few national minorities and limited immigration from other nations due to its communist legacy.

The majority ethnic group Han Chinese constitutes 91.9% of the total population with the significant minorities including Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities, constituting only a total of 8.1%. There is though a significant social and cultural disparity between urban and rural populations. Urban China is relatively modern, with many conveniences and some estimation of social success while rural communities lag behind in the reflection of social attainment.

For this reason the cultural practices of the nation tend to be dichotomous, though there are many centralized traditions, due to universalization of social norms, holidays and social practices during the "cultural revolution" or the communist take over of the nation. Some historical cultural practices are still employed, at least nominally, such as traditional funerals and such but more so in the rural populations than in the urban.

To some degree the level of social collectivism is still a strong part of the cultural fiber of the nation, and civic social responsibility.