A Look at China the Past 60 years

The People's Republic of China recently celebrated its 60th birthday with a sprawling parade at Tiananmen Square.

Lets take a look at some of the changes to the country through the years:

Population

1949 : 542 million

2008 : 1.32 billion

Foreign Reserves

1952 : US$139 million

2008 : US$2 trillion

Trade Volume

1950 : US$1.1 billion

2008 : US$2.8 trillion

Life Expectancy

1949 : 35 years

2008 : 73 years

Literacy Rate

1949 : Less than 20%

2008 : 93%

No of World Champions in Sports

1959 : 1

2008 : 120

No. of TV per 100 households:

1981 : 0.6

2008: 132

GDP per capita:

1952: 119 RMB

2008: 22698 RMB

Source: National Bureau of Statistics People's Republic of China, Xinhua, People's Daily and The  Independent.

Comments

[Abe in Shanghai]

would be interesting to see a comparison to the same figures taken from the same years in the U.S. and EU and maybe the percent change during those time periods ... China has been through so much change!