There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters, the largest being Taiwan, with a total area of about 36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.

CAPITAL: Beijing (Area: 16,800 square kilometers; Population: 12.59 million)

POPULATION: 1.2591 billion (1999), about 22% of total population in the world.