China

China is dominated by the Han Chinese majority, with 55 recognized minority groups including Zhuang, Uyghurs, and Tibetans, often in sensitive border regions. Standard Mandarin is the official language, alongside many regional tongues.

Officially atheist, China has deep traditions of Buddhism, Taoism, folk religion, Islam, and Christianity; religious life is tightly controlled by the state.

Society

China has high literacy and rising living standards, but decades of the one-child policy have produced a rapidly aging and now shrinking population, a major long-term challenge.