Amazing But Scary Facts About China

In just ten years, the small emerging market of China has transformed into a geopolitical giant that now plays a critical role in the global economy. Here are just a few facts that may shock you:

Economy:
China's GDP per capita is the 91st-lowest in the world, below Bosnia & Herzegovina.
More than 134 million people in China live on less than $1 a day.
China's economy grew 7 times as fast as America's over the past decade (316% growth vs. 43%).

If a person spent his entire Annual Income on housing, the average Beijing resident could purchase only 10 square feet of residential property (approximately the size of a small bedroom).

Military:
China not only has a high tech 'kill weapon' for destroying U.S. aircraft carriers, which can travel at mach 10 and reach its maximum range of 2000km in less than 12 minutes, China has 150% more soldiers than the U.S.A.

Travel:
The new train between Shanghai and Beijing travels twice the speed of the United States' fastest 'high speed' train (150 mph vs 302 mph).

Environment:
Expanding at 1,400 square miles every year, because of water source depletion, over-foresting and over-grazing, China's huge Gobi Desert is the size of Peru.

The high levels of pollution in Linfen, named the most polluted city on earth, take a serious toll on human health, with clinics reporting ever increasing cases of bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer.

Commerce:
By 2030, China will add more new city-dwellers than the entire U.S. population.

By 2025, China will build enough skyscrapers to fill 10 New York-sized cities, yet China has 64 million vacant homes, including whole cities that are empty. Build and populate later is China's policy, as can be witnessed also in Spain and Las Vegas.

The world's largest shopping mall is in China, but it has been 99 percent empty since 2005.

85% of make believe Christmas trees are manufactured in China. So are 80% of the world's toys.

China is the source of over 77 percent of U.S.A.'s pirated goods.
China grows half a billion pigs, which is more pork than the next 43 pork producing nations combined.

40 percent of small businesses in China failed in the world financial crisis.

Society:
Approximately one third of Chinese adults still live with their parents.

The vast majority of the Chinese population drink polluted water.
Chinese use 50,000 cigarettes every second.

Over 75 percent of China’s population supports the 'one-child' policy.
The Bubonic plague started in China in the Gobi desert in the early 1330’s. China, along with several other nations, has been unable to rid itself of the medieval plague that killed 25 million Europeans.
There are more cell phones in China than there are people in America.

Religion:
China is on track to becoming the largest center of Christianity in the world with an estimated 54 million Christians in the country. China has more Christians than in the whole of Italy.
74% of Chinese believe in evolution, which is more than Mexico (69%), Great Britain and (68%) Argentina (68%).

Justice System:
Around 10,000 Chinese citizens are annually thrown into unregistered 'black jails'.

According to Amnesty International China performed at least 1,718 executions in 2008, three times as many as the rest of the world. Some experts estimate the annual figure closer to 6,000. Numerous executions are performed on the roadside using vehicles where the condemned are injected.

Finance
China is the biggest foreign holder of American Treasury securities, holding over $840 billion worth.

Every time you purchase Chinese stocks, you are basically funding the Chinese government. 8 of Shanghai's foremost 10 stocks are government owned. These include Bank of China, PetroChina, and China Life Insurance Co.

China still receives foreign aid from both America and the United Nations.

Finally, if the population of China walked past you single file, it would never come to an end.