Brief Introduction

Main Contents and Sources of Data

Data in this chapter mainly cover China’s divisions of administrative areas, natural conditions and the exploitation and utilization of natural resources.

1) Data on divisions of administrative areas in China are prepared and provided by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on the basis of the changes in the divisions of administrative areas as approved by the State Council at the end of the previous year.

2) Data on natural conditions cover land area, mountain ranges, rivers, ocean and meteorological phenomena. Statistics are compiled by the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics using relevant historical data.

3) Data on natural resources cover land, forest, water, ocean, mineral resources and meteorological phenomena. Data on cultivated land are from the 1996 Agriculture Census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics. Data on undeveloped land and grassland are collected from surveys conducted in 1991 by the Ministry of Agriculture. Data on land occupied by forest industry and on forest resources are prepared according to the Sixth National Forest Resource Survey conducted by the National Bureau of Forestry during 1999-2003. Data on water resources are provided by the Ministry of Water Resources. Data on oceanic resources are provided by the State Oceanic Administration. Data on mineral resources are provided by the Ministry of Land and Resources. Meteorological data are provided by National Meteorological Centre of the China Meteorological Bureau.